His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret’d) and other dignitaries welcome the delegates for the Australia-Indonesia Leaders Program during a Sydney Harbour cruise.
Delegates from Indonesia and Australia have convened in Sydney for the first day of the May 2016 Australia-Indonesia Leaders Program, opening with a cruise through Sydney Harbour, taking in views of the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, Luna Park and surrounds.
Following his acknowledgement of the traditional owners of the land around Sydney Harbour, New South Wales Governor David Hurley impressed the group by delivering much of his welcome address in Bahasa Indonesia.
He reiterated his message in English, “I believe so much that to have a positive and healthy relationship between our two countries is really important to both our people.”
He drew on his time as former Chief of the Australian Defence Force, where he helped establish bi-national working groups, in stating the importance of close ties between the two nations. He said, “We are two important countries in our region. If we get our relationship right, the region will listen. That relationship is good for both of us, but also good for all the other countries in our region.”
Commenting on the Australia-Indonesia Leaders Program aim of bringing people together , he said, “This is at the heart of this program – yes, we have technical expertise, we represent our departments – but this is about learning about each other.”
“I think this is a tremendously important relationship for both countries, and I welcome these initiatives.”
The group was also welcomed by other distinguished guests, including warm speeches from Consul-General of Republic of Indonesia – New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, Yayan Mulyana, and Australia-Indonesia Centre Director, Paul Ramadge.
Almost 30 delegates from both Australia and Indonesia will spend ten days travelling to Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, to participate in courses from Australia-Indonesia Centre partner institutes Monash University, The University of Melbourne, ANU and The University of Sydney, as well as a course from Universitas Paramadina and attend a range of dinners, workshops and cultural activities centred around the program’s themes of economic diplomacy, energy and innovation.
