It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Mr Ali Alatas.
Mr Alatas was a great friend of Australia and made an outstanding contribution to the Asia-Pacific region.
I had the pleasure of meeting him on many occasions over the years.
Mr Alatas was Foreign Minister of Indonesia from 1988 to 1999, and his legacy can be clearly seen in the excellent relationship we enjoy with Indonesia today.
As Foreign Minister, he made a personal commitment to developing Indonesia's relationship with Australia.
He did this on the basis of strong, practical cooperation on issues of importance to both countries.
Mr Alatas contributed both vision and hard work to strengthening the political, economic and personal links between our two countries.
Fittingly in 1995 he was awarded an Honorary Award in the Order of Australia for service to Australia-Indonesia relations.
Mr Alatas also made an enormous contribution to the Asia-Pacific region including the Cambodia peace settlement, during which he co-chaired the Paris Peace Conference, the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) process and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), for regional security discussions.
He went on to serve with distinction as Indonesia's permanent representative to the United Nations and as an adviser to President Yudhoyono.
As a measure of the great regard in which he was held, Mr Alatas was appointed as a Commissioner on the Government's International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament.
In October I hosted a dinner for the Commissioners at Kirribilli and had the great pleasure of catching up again with Mr Alatas on that occasion.
Today we honour the memory of Mr Alatas and his significant contribution to developing and strengthening relations between our two countries.