I am pleased to confirm that the President of Indonesia, Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will visit Australia from 31 March to 2 April 2005.
Australia's bilateral relationship with Indonesia is a strategically important and very close one covering trade and investment, security, intelligence and police cooperation, development cooperation, education and extensive people-to-people ties. The closeness of the relationship was demonstrated most recently by our two countries' agreement to establish the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development and by the overwhelming response of the Australian people to the devastation wrought by the tsunami disaster in Aceh. For its part, the Australian Government will contribute $1 billion to the Partnership.
President Yudhoyono's visit to Australia will be preceded, in the next few days, (17-18 March) by important ministerial meetings, the Joint Commission of the Australia- Indonesia Partnership and the Australia-Indonesia Ministerial Forum. The Forum will be attended by eight visiting Indonesian Ministers. At the Forum, amongst other things, Australia will reaffirm its strong support for President Yudhoyono's commitment to the fight against terrorism and to economic reform.
Programme details of President Yudhoyono's visit are now being worked out and will be announced soon.
The President's visit is a very significant milestone for the bilateral relationship and is most welcome so early in his term in office. I have met the President on several occasions in recent months, including my attendance at his inauguration, at the APEC and ASEAN Summits last year and at the Special Tsunami Summit in Jakarta in early January.
The last visit by an Indonesian President to Australia was by Abdurrahman Wahid in June 2001.