Australian minister to bolster cooperation with RI

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Visiting Australia`s new Home Affairs Minister Hon Bob Debus MP will seek to strengthen bilateral ties in a range of areas, including law enforcement and legal and customs cooperation, said an Australian Embassy media release on Monday.

It said that while in Jakarta from February 24-26, Debus was scheduled to meet a number of senior Indonesian ministers and officials, including Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, Attorney-General Hendarman Supandji, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, and Law and Human Rights Minister Andi Mattalatta.

The Australian minister would also discuss the wide range of joint activities under way between Australian and Indonesian officials to combat illegal fishing, smuggling and other cross-border crimes in the region in meetings with Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister, Freddie Numberi, and the Head of Indonesia`s Maritime Security Coordinating Board.

"Debus is also scheduled to call on the National Police Chief, General Sutanto, and inspect Polri`s Transnational Crime Center and Bomb Data Center in Jakarta, both developed with funding and technical support from the Australian Government," said the media release.

It said Debus would receive a briefing on the highly-successful Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC), a joint initiative developed with A$37 million in Australian Government funding as a training center to strengthen law enforcement capacity and cooperation across the region.

Over 3,000 police and officials from Indonesia and neighboring countries have received training at JCLEC since it was established in 2004.

Debus` Home Affairs portfolio covers a range of domestic and international issues, including the Australian Federal Police, Australian Customs Service, strategies for dealing with money laundering and drugs, criminal law and its reform and the Australian Crime Commission.

Meanwhile, Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer said Debus` visit provided further evidence of the new Australian Government`s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Indonesia across a range of issues.

The Ambassador said Debus was already the 10th Federal Government Minister to visit Indonesia since the December 2007 swearing in of the new Australian Government.

"The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith have both emphasized that Australia`s engagement with our neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region will be one of the main pillars of the Government`s foreign policy, along with the US Alliance and emphasis on the United Nations and multilateral institutions," Farmer said. (*) END

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