PRESIDENT YUDHOYONO:
[Transcript of translation]
Your Excellency, Prime Minister Mr Tony Abbott, distinguished ministers and distinguished reporters.
Just recently we have completed a meeting. I have conducted a meeting with the Prime Minister of Australia, a meeting that took place in a very good setting.
Our meeting was very productive and it was very constructive. We both discussed efforts to safeguard and to further enhance our cooperation and also our partnership – the partnership between our two nations, our two countries – so that we may come closer to a future that is much better based upon the principles of mutual benefit and mutual respect.
As we all know that in general, the relations and the cooperation between Australia and Indonesia is good and from time to time this relation continues to face progress, even though once or twice there are issues or there are challenges at the battle level and that’s common. That is normal for two countries that are neighbours, for two countries that are good friends but our spirit is to find a solution – the best solution possible – and the widest solution so that we may overcome any challenges. That is the spirit that we have. That is the commitment that we possess between the Prime Minister of Australia and myself at a time when we must face issues or even such challenges and such.
Therefore in our meeting today, apart from both of us discussing again the steps of cooperation that is more effective in the field of economics, be that in trade or investment or in food security, we also discussed cooperation in the field of education, in the field of cooperation in facing transnational crimes and even we discussed on issues, matters relating to the dynamics and the latest developments in our region.
Of course it has become an important discussion between the two of us this afternoon – that discussion is our efforts, the efforts of Indonesia and Australia in overcoming and resolving one issue that was it almost became a challenge for our bilateral relations and that issue is the issue of wiretapping or surveillance which took place in 2013 last year. In truth, the steps that have been taken by our two countries to overcome such a challenge and so that it may not occur again in the future is something that we continue to conduct and both our foreign ministers, they both have also in many events and opportunity to discuss this issue, Indonesia has proposed a proposal so that we may establish a protocol, or a code of conduct, and that code of conduct can be concluded in the near future and so all this process, so that we may further enhance the cooperation between our two great countries can truly be implemented – implemented even better.
No doubt we also have the same spirit to resolve such issues so that therefore, after all of this has been concluded, even though our cooperation continues to go on, we will discover even newer opportunities, newer agenda in our cooperation in our bilateral level- for example cooperation in the field of intelligence which is very necessary.
For the interest of our two countries it is something that we can continue and we can enhance. And also other aspect, cooperation of the military – Australian military and Indonesian military – for the common benefit so that we may continue such cooperation, we may further enhance this cooperation.
In short, what we could conduct, both our governments, in resolving this issue that almost distracted us, almost distracted our good relations, I’m sure that the result will bring a good benefit, because we both know – both our countries, the nation of Indonesia and the nation of Australia – we want to always be good friends.
We also know that almost one million Australian visitors – tourists – visit Indonesia and Bali. There is about 150,000 Indonesian students that study in Australia. So the truth is, the relations between our people-to-people of our two countries are strong. They are progressing, and in that context, all of that, for the interest of both our countries, for the interest of Indonesia and Australia, therefore we have both agreed to resolve such issue, an issue that almost distracted our good relations and furthermore, we both agreed to find opportunities for greater cooperation so that we may ensure the benefit and the interests of both Indonesia and Australia.
Those are what I can share with you from Indonesia’s perspective. Now I’d like to invite His Excellency Mr Prime Minister Tony Abbott to convey his views to the media.
I invite Your Excellency.
PRIME MINISTER ABBOTT:
Bapak President, thank you so much. Thank you so much for the invitation to Batam Island.
Thank you so much for the warmth and the cordiality of our discussions today and thank you for the consistent friendship that you have shown to Australia over the last decade.
This is a very important relationship to Australia.
Indonesia is a significant trading partner. It is an increasingly important source of people, ideas, of strength to Australia and I want this relationship to go from strength to strength in the months and years ahead.
My first overseas visit as Prime Minister was very fittingly to Indonesia and I look forward to many visits to this marvellous country in the years ahead.
So this is a very important relationship to me, it’s a very important relationship to my country – in some respects our most important relationship given Indonesia’s size, proximity and potential as one of the emerging democratic superpowers of Asia.
One of the great things about this relationship is that on those rare occasions when there are problems, we talk them through. We speak candidly to each other and that’s exactly what’s happened between myself and Bapak President today.
Yes, there have been a couple of issues between our countries over the last few months, but I am confident that they are well on the way to resolution – satisfactory and successful resolution.
The people smuggling issue is well on the way to resolution because the boats that were coming to Australia have almost entirely ceased to come, so I believe that this is an issue which will not substantially further trouble us.
The intelligence issue is one that I believe will be resolved by the process underway between the Foreign Minister of Indonesia, His Excellency Marty Natalegawa, and Australia’s Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop. I believe that this can successfully be resolved to the mutual benefit of our countries, because intelligence sharing in dealing with common problems is the way forward for both of us.
I want to stress that this is a strong partnership between Indonesia and Australia. Indonesia and Australia are, I believe, trusted partners of each other. Our economic links are growing all the time and I’m delighted to see that Australia’s role in contributing to Indonesia’s food security is stronger today than it was 12 months ago.
I’m pleased that our people-to-people links are improving all the time and shortly the first New Colombo Plan fellows and scholars will be arriving from Australia here in Indonesia and on 25th June, the first Yudhoyno Fellow will be announced by Australia.
I think there is a great potential for Australia and Indonesia to work together for the peace, stability and security in our region and intelligence sharing is an important part of that.
I want to congratulate Bapak President Yudhoyono for the leadership that he has shown - not just here in Indonesia, but in this region and in the wider world over the past decade. President Yudhoyono has been one of the senior statesmen – perhaps the senior statesman – of ASEAN and has helped to make ASEAN strong and more influential in the councils of the world. I want to stress that a strong ASEAN is important to our region; it’s very important to Australia.
I also want to stress Australia’s continuing support for the Lombok Treaty and our absolute understanding of the primacy of that treaty in the relationship between our two countries – our total support for the territorial integrity of Indonesia.
Finally, may I say that when President Yudhoyono leaves office, Indonesia will have lost a statesman and Australia will have lost a friend. I’m sure that Indonesia will have more statesmen in the future and I know that Australia will have great friends in this country in the future, but President Yudhoyono has been a great President and a good friend to Australia.
I believe that when the history of Indonesia is written, the Yudhoyono presidency will be a watershed - marked by peace abroad, prosperity at home, the consolidation of democracy and the strengthening of national unity.
This is a marvellous legacy that you, Bapak President, leave your country and I have to say that I have been proud and thrilled and honoured to get to know you over the last few years and I will be very pleased and proud and honoured to call you a friend in the months and years and decades ahead.
Thank you so much, Bapak.
[ends]