Australian Prime Minister pledges strong ties with Indonesia

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese seeks to reboot Australia’s ties as he visits Indonesia on his first bilateral trip since taking the job last month.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has heralded a deepened relationship with close neighbour Indonesia, pledging stronger cooperation on trade, security and climate crisis during his first bilateral visit.

Australia’s new prime minister and Indonesia’s president rode bamboo bicycles together June 6 as they held talks to boost ties.

Anthony Albanese hailed relations with Indonesia and vowed to strengthen them on his first bilateral trip since being elected last month, heading to Southeast Asia’s biggest economy in what has become a traditional tour for new Australian premiers.

After a guard of honour, Indonesian President Joko Widodo presented Albanese with a bicycle at the presidential palace in Bogor — a city south of capital Jakarta — where the pair removed their jackets, donned helmets and rode around the grounds. “Australia’s relationship with Indonesia is one of our most important. We are linked not just by geography, we are linked by choice,” Albanese said in a joint press conference held after talks. “Our relationship is ever-deepened by the strategic and economic interests we share,” he added, saying Indonesia was on course to become one of the five biggest economies in the world.

Widodo said good relations between the two would contribute to “the peace and prosperity of the region”.

About the bike ride, Albanese later tweeted, “it was a privilege to have such a personal and enjoyable tour of the magnificent grounds”.

Widodo tweeted the bikes were “designed for use on the highway” and made from bamboo by Singgih Susilo Kartono, an East Javan designer known for his woodcraft.

Albanese confirmed he would attend the G20 summit, which Indonesia will host in November, despite reservations from predecessor Scott Morrison about sitting around the table with Russian President Vladimir Putin after his invasion of Ukraine.

“I said before I travelled to Indonesia… that Vladimir Putin attended previous meetings in Australia hosted by (former PM) Tony Abbott,” he told reporters. “That didn’t mean we agree with his stance, indeed we find President Putin’s behaviour to be abhorrent, to be illegal,” he added.

The Labour Party leader discussed advancing opportunities on trade, climate change and regional security with Widodo, who last visited Australia in early 2020. He also offered Australian technical expertise to Indonesia for its capital move from Jakarta to a new site, Borneo’s Nusantara — scheduled for 2024 — and said he hoped to advance a Aus$200 million ($144 million) climate and infrastructure fund for the country.

Stressing the importance of engaging with Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Australia’s new prime minister brought a high-profile business delegation to Indonesia, along with Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Trade Minister Don Farrell.

“Indonesia is on track to be one of the world’s five largest economies,” Albanese said. “Revitalising our trade and investment relationship is a priority for my government,” he added.

The Australian delegation includes high-level business leaders, Trade Minister Don Farrell and Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

 Economic partnership

The government would work together to realise the potential of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA), he said, and also offer technical expertise for the development of Indonesia’s planned new green and high-tech capital, ‘Nusantara’.

Albanese reiterated A$470 million ($338.49 million) pledge over four years for overseas development in Indonesia and the region, a A$200 million climate and infrastructure partnership with Indonesia, and the creation of a new Southeast Asia office in Australia’s department of foreign affairs. “True to my government’s ambitious climate targets, I want better access to affordable, reliable and secure clean energy right across our region, as we transition to a net zero world together,” he said.

The trip comes as Australia’s new Labor government, which ended almost a decade of conservative rule in a May 21 election, signals a greater emphasis on relations with Southeast Asia and climate crisis.

Australia’s new Malaysian-born foreign minister, who previously said Indonesia did not get the attention it deserved under the former administration, met with Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi.

President Jokowi, as the Indonesian leader is commonly known, emphasised the importance of the two nations strengthening their bilateral commitments amid current global challenges.

Jokowi reiterated the importance of the strategic economic partnership and IA-CEPA, which will allow more Indonesians to work in Australia, the recent opening of a Monash University campus in greater Jakarta, and the importance of food security and sustainability.

Albanese is also scheduled to meet Lim Jock Hoi, the Jakarta-based secretary general of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), before heading to Makassar in eastern Indonesia.

With input from AFP, TRT World