PRESIDENT: I would like to once again congratulate you your Excellency on your appointment as Prime Minister of Australia. I wish to also thank Australia for the assistance rendered in Indonesia in addressing forest fires. I also warmly welcome the plan to open a Australian consul general in Makassar, Sulawesi.
PRIME MINISTER: Well your Excellency thank you very much indeed. It is a real honour for to be here in Indonesia for my first visit to Asia as Prime Minister and I want to thank you, your wife and your nation for hosting me and Lucy here today. I couldn’t have asked for a warmer or more gracious welcome by yourself and so many of your ministerial colleagues. Australia and Indonesia share a very close partnership spaning seven decades. One of the shining moments, proudest moments, Australia’s contribution to global affairs was the diplomatic support provided in the immediate post war era for Indonesia’s struggle for independence and sovereignty and the Lombok Treaty is of course the landmark agreement it symbolises and formalise the strong mutual respect between our two great nations.
PRESIDENT: The close proximity of our two countries is a fact.