Australian Foreign Minister to Visit Indonesia

Australia’s Foreign Minister, the Hon Stephen Smith MP, will visit Indonesia from 11 to 13 August.

“In Jakarta, I will meet my counterpart, Dr Hassan Wirajuda, as well as other senior Indonesian Ministers, officials and Parliamentarians, to discuss our extensive bilateral cooperation ranging from disaster response and security ties to enhanced people-to-people links,” Mr Smith said.

This visit will see the fourth bilateral meeting between Mr Smith and Dr Wirajuda.
“It follows on from our December meeting in Bali, our meeting in Perth in February and our meeting in Singapore last month during the ASEAN related meetings,” Mr Smith said.

During Dr Wirajuda’s visit to Perth in February, both Ministers formally exchanged letters to bring into force the Lombok Treaty on security cooperation.
“The Lombok Treaty is a very significant and major step forward in our bilateral relationship, providing a robust legal framework for strengthening extensive security cooperation between Australia and Indonesia,” Mr Smith said.

“In Perth Dr Wirajuda also accompanied me to the modern day successor of my old high school, where he spoke to an Indonesian language class. On my visit to Indonesia I will travel with Dr Wirajuda to South Sulawesi to visit one of 2000 junior high schools Australia is building or expanding in Indonesia as part of our development assistance in basic education,” Mr Smith said.

Two-way education links between Australia and Indonesia are particularly strong, with 15,000 Indonesian students currently enrolled in Australian schools, universities and technical colleges. Australia awards 300 scholarships to Indonesian students each year.

In 2008-09, Australian aid to Indonesia under the Australia-Indonesia Partnership will be over A$460 million. Major areas of assistance in addition to education include health, infrastructure and governance.

Mr Smith will also address the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta on Monday to outline Australia’s first rate bilateral relationship with Indonesia.

“Australia's relationship with Indonesia is strong and broad-ranging, reflecting our shared interests and commitment to advance cooperation on the many bilateral, regional and global issues of importance to us both,” Mr Smith said.

Media Enquiries:
Jenny Dee, Counsellor (Public Affairs) tel. (021) 2550 5290 mob. 0811 187 3175