SUBJECTS: Australia-Indonesia Relations.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Along with the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Richard Marles, I am very pleased to welcome Indonesia’s Defence Minister and importantly, the President-elect of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto to Australia. I look forward to working closely with you, President-elect Prabowo, to attending your inauguration in October. There is no more important relationship than the relationship between our two great nations. The strides that President Widodo and I have made together toward a deeper economic relationship will be the foundation of the work that I know will continue under your administration. And that’s been confirmed by the one-on-one leaders’ meeting that we had today, but also the discussions that we had with senior members of my Cabinet and your delegation. Our countries will continue to strengthen our ties, as economic partners, security partners and partners that stand ready to benefit from the global transition to net zero. This year, Australia and Indonesia are celebrating 75 years of bilateral diplomatic relations. Our partnership is underpinned by mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity as enshrined in the Lombok Treaty. Australia and Indonesia are working together to shape the type of region we both seek. One that is peaceful, stable and prosperous and respectful of sovereignty. I’m pleased to announce that we have today concluded our bilateral treaty-level Defence Cooperation Agreement. This historic treaty will bolster our strong defence cooperation by deepening dialogue, strengthening interoperability and enhancing practical arrangements. It will be a vital plank for our two countries to support each other’s security, which is vital to both countries, but also to the stability of the region that we share. I thank our Defence Ministers for their leadership in realising this historic agreement which will be signed in Indonesia in the coming days. Australia will continue to work in partnership with Indonesia on its priorities. Indonesia is of course on track to be among the world’s largest economies by 2040, and Australia is well positioned to be a partner in Indonesia’s growth. Deepening our trade and investment with Indonesia will help grow our economy, support jobs and industry and strengthen our supply chains. My Government is committed to implementing the initiatives under the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040. Including, of course, our $2 billion Southeast Asia investment financing facility and investment deal teams to catalyse Australian private sector investment in the region. You are such a welcome visitor to our country once again. I congratulate you once again on your election. A significant victory in the first round, not requiring a second round, was an outstanding achievement. And I look forward to building on our friendship and continuing the strong relationship that I have had with President Widodo upon your election.
HE GENERAL (RETD) PRABOWO SUBIANTO, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE AND PRESIDENT-ELECT OF INDONESIA: Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I would like to thank Prime Minister Albanese and his senior ministers for receiving me today and for according me the highest courtesy and respect. As I remember, Prime Minister Albanese was the first foreign leader to congratulate me by phone, telephoning me, phoning me himself one day after the elections in Indonesia, which was on the 14 February. Prime Minister Albanese phoned me on the 15th. This is, I think, a mark of the friendship, the good relationship between us and I value this very much. As we, Indonesia also always remember that Australia was one of the first, if not the first, country to support our struggle for independence in the forties. We have had our ups and downs as the political situation and the geopolitical situation of course evolved, but I think we are very happy today to have several decades of very close cooperation and I am determined to continue this good neighbour relationship. Of course, I will continue the general policies of President Joko Widodo in which Australia plays a very important role for us. In most fields, especially in the field of economics, we have had good cooperation. We would like to see more Australian participation in our economy. We also like to see closer collaboration, consultation, on various fields that we can achieve outcomes that respect both our economic interests, both our national interests. As the Prime Minister mentioned, we have achieved good progress, great progress, may I say, in our Defence Cooperation Agreement. We have ironed out some legalistic details, I think, in a very good outcome. In our meeting with senior members of the Australian Government, I mentioned several fields in which we would like Australian help, advice, assistance in the field of agriculture, food security, also in serious problem of drugs, narcotics, let us say, threat that we are experiencing in Indonesia. I think this is a field in which it is in both our countries interest to have close technical cooperation. And I view the drugs problem and the narcotics threat to be of the highest importance in Indonesia and I really value Australian help in this case. So, we look forward to a wide spectrum of future cooperation, not least in the field of sports. I congratulate Australia for its great achievement in the last Olympics. And I’m also determined to better our position in the next Olympics and also in the field of soccer, I think. Prime Minister, I look forward to hosting your Deputy and your Minister of Defence very soon in Indonesia to sign our Defence Cooperation Agreement. I think we had very important discussions which I think will be beneficial to both our countries in the future. Thank you, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Might have some comments from the Defence Minister.
RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER FOR DEFENCE: Well, thank you. It’s a real honour to be here with our Prime Minister and with my good friend Bapak Prabowo Subianto, the Indonesian Defence Minister and the Indonesian President-elect. The successful conclusion of the negotiations for the Defence Cooperation Agreement between Indonesia and Australia is a profoundly significant moment for the national security of both of our countries. What this agreement will do is provide for much greater interoperability between our defence forces. It will provide for much more exercises between our defence forces. It will see us working together in the global commons to support the rules based order and importantly, it will allow us to operate from each other’s countries. And in that sense, this agreement will be the deepest, the most significant agreement that our two countries have ever made. And when you consider the journeys of Indonesia and Australia over the decades, it is profoundly historic that we have reached this moment where we find security in each other. The map really determines that Australia and Indonesia, as the closest of neighbours, have a shared destiny. But from this moment forth, that destiny is very much defined by deep strategic trust. Now, typically, it would take the better part of a decade to negotiate an agreement of this kind. That we have done it in less than two years speaks to the shared ambition, the shared sense of purpose between our two countries, the closeness between Australia and Indonesia under President Widodo and Prime Minister Albanese. I’ve been to Indonesia in the last 18 months three times, Bapak Prabolo has been here twice, we’ve met each other countless times in other parts of the world. This would not have happened but for Bapak Prabowo’s leadership. And I would like to thank him for that leadership. I would like to thank him for his partnership and indeed his friendship. I very much look forward to visiting Indonesia in the coming days to sign the Defence Cooperation Agreement. And as a result of that moment, the peoples of both Australia and Indonesia will be much, much safer. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Thanks very much.
