Western Australian Premier to Strengthen Sister-State Ties in East Java

Western Australian Premier Alan Carpenter will make a special visit to Surabaya, East Java on 5-7 December 2007 to strengthen the 17-year old sister-state relationship between East Java and Western Australia.

During the visit, Mr Carpenter will hold detailed discussions with East Java Governor Utomo, government officials and local companies with an interest in Western Australia.

Australia’s Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer welcomed the visit to Surabaya to reaffirm a relationship which he says has been a “benchmark for other inter-city and inter-provincial agreements”.

Premier Carpenter and East Java Governor Utomo extended the sister state agreement for another five years at a signing ceremony in Perth in September 2007.

“The East Java- Western Australia agreement has had a substantial impact on peoples’ lives,” Mr Farmer said.

“The sorts of practical cooperation and exchanges that have already taken place under the Western Australia-East Java agreement have helped to promote Australia’s overall relationship with Indonesia in a definable way.”

Mr Carpenter will visit cattle feed lots in East Java, which are an example of the strong agricultural co-operation developed under the sister-state agreement, first signed in Surabaya in 1990.

Live cattle from Western Australia are fattened in the rich East Java feed lots. In 2006/07, Australia exported 452, 197 live cattle to Indonesia.

The Western Australian Government has been working with PT Agrindo to develop East Java’s feed lots so that the province will be able to dramatically increase its beef production for the domestic market and with the potential to develop beef exports to the Middle East.

Premier Carpenter and Governor Utomo will also witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the East Java Department of Manpower and the Perth company Offshore Staff Solutions Pty Ltd.

Under the MOU, the East Java Government will assist Offshore Staff Solutions in selecting skilled and qualified workers who have been trained in East Java to work for Western Australian companies that are suffering from the tight labour market in Western Australia.

In addition to the agricultural and labour exchanges that have taken place under the agreement, there have been a number of successful development projects in East Java, including renewable energy projects such as solar energy-driven water for poor villages in the province.

The agreement has also helped to promote East Java as a potential trade and investment target for Western Australian companies.

Mr Farmer said Western Australian companies had been increasingly looking at investment opportunities in East Java. Major sectors of interest included the trade in live cattle and dairy cattle, wheat, potatoes, bamboo plantations, mango products, solar energy and oil and gas.

Mr Farmer also said that Western Australia was very pleased to host the largest Indonesian delegation to ever visit Australia in September this year when Indonesia was the guest nation at the Perth Royal Show. East Java had the largest stand in the pavilion and won the Perth Royal Show Award for Excellence.

Further information:
John Williams (Counsellor Public Affairs) Tel. (021) 2553 5290 mob. 0812 1053 989