Trade

Indonesia’s accelerating economic prosperity will see the country poised to take a leading role in the Indo-Pacific region. It’s time for Australia to refocus its Indonesia priorities. Indonesia has long been a country of systemic importance in Asia. Yet for much of its history, it has kept a lower regional profile than its status and […]

Australia’s relationship with Indonesia does not have to be marked by crisis. Australians should make the most of the soon-to-be-signed Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement. Three years ago one of Australia’s foremost Indonesian analysts, Ken Ward, published an essay titled “Condemned to crisis” in which he argued that the Australia-Indonesia relationship has been, and will […]

On August 31, Prime Minister Scott Morrison secured an end to negotiations on a new free trade agreement with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, opening a path for Australian universities to build new campuses in Indonesia. Negotiations began in 2012, but have recently ramped up. President Widodo and Prime Minister Morrison signed a memorandum of understanding […]

Australia and Indonesia sign off on a new Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) at the end of August. This is a welcome development in efforts to increase commercial ties between these two G20 neighbours. The negotiation of these kinds of trade agreements, which are invariably very detailed in nature, offer a valuable opportunity for each […]

Much to the frustration of diplomats in Jakarta and Canberra, positive trends have yet to change the way the Indonesian pub­lic looks at Australia. The old view of Australia as a white man’s colony in Asia still remains dominant, and Indonesian political leaders often play this up, exploiting the public’s ignorance whenever the two coun­tries […]

In a world where countries have competing strategic interests and goals, think tanks can play an important role in fostering dialogue and establishing platforms for governments to receive feedback. Indonesia is no exception. Executive Director of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, Dr Philips Vermonte, is a strong advocate for the role […]

It should be natural that close neighbours like Indonesia and Australia seek to forge strong relations and mutually beneficial cooperation. Geographic proximity, however, does not always guarantee this. The improvement in bilateral ties is illustrated by the high level of engagement between top officials, such as the recent meeting between President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during the ASEAN Australia Special […]

On my travels around the eastern provinces of Indonesia I am often asked by Governors, Bupatis and business people, “what can Australia do to help us develop our tourism sector?” All levels of government in Indonesia are promoting tourism with the expectation it will bring progress and prosperity to the long-neglected people of eastern Indonesia. […]

Former Foreign Minister Gareth Evans once said, “No two neighbours anywhere in the world are as comprehensively unalike as Australia and Indonesia.” Despite proximity, Canberra and Jakarta may as well be worlds apart but changes need to be made if the countries want to face the future in a strategic way. Change is happening on […]

I spent the month of October 2017 in Australia on my mid-term consultations and leave. It is hard to believe, but I am half-way through my posting: eighteen months of solid work behind us, and another busy eighteen months ahead of us, until the end of our posting to Makassar. I travelled to Perth, Darwin, […]