Opening Remarks by

H.E. Mr S. Wiryono
Indonesian Ambassador to Australia

At the 2nd Indonesian Students' Conference
The Australian National University, 21-22 August 1996

Mr Chairman

Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am pleased to have been invited by the Indonesian Students' Association to open the Second Indonesian Students' Conference which carries the theme. "Indonesia - Australia Relationships: Towards Greater Understanding and Cooperation". I commend the initiative and the choice of the theme, and as an Ambassador am impressed by the concern and care shown by the younger generation towards the relationship between the two countries. I consider the heart of the theme, 'Towards Greater Understanding and Cooperation", is not only constructive but also realistic, as it is I suppose, based on the idea that the two countries still need to promote a greater understanding of each other.

Indeed, in this increasingly interdependent and globalised world, relations between countries have become the concern and interest of not only diplomats, but are also being undertaken more and more by various institutions and people in society. These include universities, professors and students, business organisations and individual businesspeople, local governments and councils, tourists and last but not least, young people studying at colleges and universities abroad. These students often find themselves being cited as ambassadors of goodwill, and rightly so, for they in their own way are engaged in a very important form and level of direct communication of people-to- people diplomacy.

While we government officials go through this interaction in a rather formal way, thousands of Australian business men and women travel every year to Indonesia to trade, invest, see the sights or to simply get away from it all and enjoy themselves. On the other hand, Indonesian business men and women are coming here to trade and invest and thousands of our young people are choosing to enroll in your venerable institutions of higher learning. There are also regular visits by academic professors from both countries who exchange views, debate ideas and contribute their intellectual expertise to the burgeoning relations. In this era of globalisation and interdependence, and in this tremendously dynamic region, such interaction is an important contribution not only to bilateral relations but also to regional peace and security.

The chosen theme is not only appropriate, but is based on and reflective of the need and desire to have better mutual understanding. It is encouraging that the Indonesian students who are studying in Australia are trying to contribute to the greater understanding of the bilateral relationship between Australia and Indonesia. It is also encouraging that' the Association chose such a worthy theme at the time when Indonesia is celebrating its 51st anniversary of Independence. Last year's theme was "Indonesia in Transition", but it is important to look at this theme as reflecting the on-going process as Indonesia will continue to be in transition for a long time to come, politically, economically, socially and in many other ways and naturally there will be changes and developments which may even take a somewhat violent turn. These changes and developments need to be seen in their proper perspective and at this conference I hope there will be objective consideration of these changes and developments to help the general public understand the problems facing Indonesia. This conference will also have to focus on how these changes are affecting one of Indonesia's most important bilateral relationships.

Indonesia is Australia's closest geographical neighbour to the north, yet it has been said time and again that there are no two countries so politically, socially, culturally and economically different as Australia and Indonesia. This is indeed true, but as neighbours we are bound to interact in many ways and such interaction should not only be welcomed but promoted.

Indeed, early on in our history, the two countries established a good rapport when Australia supported Indonesia's struggle to defend its proclamation of independence in the late 1940s. At that time, Australia supported the fledgling Indonesian republic in its struggle to defend its independence from the former colonial power and we have always been grateful for that.

Nevertheless, it is only natural that being politically, culturally, socially and -historically different, once in a while misperceptions as well as misunderstandings happen. We shouldn't be afraid of this. We should be willing to face the problems squarely and seek solutions, and it would be to our mutual benefit if we can manage these misunderstandings in an intelligent and realistic way without lecturing and hectoring.

There have been periods during which sensitive issues have exacerbated relations between our two countries but, generally, through the years, especially since the New Order Government under President Soeharto was launched in the late 1960s, we have interacted positively and constructively on a broad range of issues of common interest and cooperated fruitfully. The closer relationship Australia has with Indonesia has marked the Government of Prime Minister Keating, and is being generally continued by the Howard Government. The upcoming visit of Prime Minister Howard to Indonesia will provide excellent opportunity for the two leaders of the two countries to review and strengthen the bilateral relations, as well as their shared responsibility with regards to regional peace and development.

The relationship has been incrementally intensifying to cover many different fields of activity and has taken the form of political and security dialogue, cooperation for economic development, trade, and increasingly interaction in the field of science and technology, education and human resources.

The ANU has contributed significantly to such interaction in a number of fields as have other tertiary institutions around Australia. We have to keep on strengthening these bridges because it is through them that we get to know each other better culturally, learn from each other and become more effective partners, and more importantly, better friends. What better way than to have these objectives achieved than through education?

From the early days of the Republic, Indonesia's leadership realised that a steadily improved base of education was necessary for the foundation of modern nationhood. The desire among the Indonesian people for education was and remains tremendous but we have not been without problems with regards to accommodating the rising demand for education. The supply and maintenance of quality education is a complex field and the government has been redefining its role so that it is no longer the sole provider of education but instead plays more and more the role of catalyst for stimulating private-sector training programs. So now we have a situation where an array of increasingly sophisticated skill-training programs are being developed by the private sector and more imaginative and focused public education programs are being developed by the government.

Education is an ever-growing and valuable field for mutual cooperation. An increasing number of Indonesian students, approximately 15,000 currently, are choosing to study in Australia and this has been the pattern for many years now. Australia is the first choice among Indonesian students who wish to study abroad due not only to geographical proximity, but also due to the high standards of Australia's tertiary institutions. Australia is also closer and less expensive than Europe or the United States. These students, Indonesia's future generation of business and government leaders, take away with them memories of a pleasant and fruitful chapter of their lives and friendships forged whilst in Australia, will certainly contribute to the strengthening and deepening of the relations between our two countries. Therefore, in the next century, there will be a whole generation of Indonesians in leadership of various professions and fields of endeavour who not only understand their immediate neighbour to the south but also nurture an abiding affection for it.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite us all to think about more effective and efficient ways to provide greater opportunities for the young generations to study in Indonesia and Australia. The idea of developing - a transfer system of academic credits for example, is one possibility which needs to be considered by those responsible in the higher education system. If one or more universities in Indonesia and Australia agree to implement this idea, then Indonesian students need not-take up all the courses required in Australian universities. This would lead to a reduction in tuition fees and length of study time. At the same time, Indonesian parents will be more willing to send their children to study in Australia.

Australian universities, for some time now, have provided comprehensive Indonesian studies incorporating, economics, commerce, politics, history, language, culture and art. Across Australia there are some sixteen universities offering studies in these diverse Indonesian-related subjects and many have established divisions that focus solely on Indonesia and its people.

The ANU is one such institution. Since the establishment of the Indonesia Project in 1964, the ANU has held a prominent position within academic circles for providing and promoting serious intellectual discussions and studies on Indonesia. This conference is a prime example of such support and commitment, as is the annual Indonesia Update which will begin later this week. The provision of Indonesian subjects has come a long way since the early days, when in 1956, the Canberra University College which later amalgamated with the ANU in 1962, established the School of Oriental Studies under the Faculty of Arts. Language and art subjects were offered and 1963 saw the conferring of the first Arts degree incorporating Indonesian-focused subjects. The commitment and support shown by the ANU and its academic staff over the years since, is indeed commendable and significantly important to the promotion and maintenance of the bilateral relationship.

Another area I feel strongly about is the increasing growth in the provision of and desire to learn bahasa Indonesia. Our language is now being studied here in Australia by people at all different levels of education, from primary school through to university, as well as by people in the workforce, who due to work requirements or just a keen interest, are taking the challenge of learning bahasa and often increasing their knowledge of the country as a whole.

Let me now briefly discuss the role of the press. As a serious diplomat I must acknowledge that diplomacy owes a great deal to the profession of journalism. There is no doubt that the press has indeed contributed considerably to making the world first a global village and now a global neighbourhood. It has made people all over the world tremendously more knowledgable and interested in international affairs. Direct dieiogues between governments remain an important element of diplomacy, but there are also a tremendous number of initiatives and responses - being undertaken among business organisations and individual business-people of different countries. In fact, ordinary citizens, being the vessel of public opinion, have a great deal to do with the making of a govemment's stand on national and international issues and much of public opinion is based on the information, analyses and opinion leadership provided by the press.

In a very real sense therefore, the press is inexorably involved in diplomacy. Although it does not make foreign policy, it exercises a certain measure of influence in the making of foreign policy, albeit in an indirect and subtle way. It certainly supplies a great part of a people's perceptions and therefore has something to do with their responses to the policies of a foreign government. Accordingly, a diplomat, no matter how skilful and experienced, can hardly do a good job of winning appreciation for his country's policies if those policies are not taken up by the press. Moreover, it is not enough that the policies of a country are reported; it is even more important that they are reported correctly.

Therefore, far from being natural enemies, the diplomat and the journalist, whether they like it or not, are in fact the most natural partners, wary as they are with each other: they both have something to put across to the public. The diplomat wants to put across his government's policies and all that his government stands for. On the other hand, it is the job of the journalist to report the facts and his understanding of the facts about those policies. Between what the diplomat wants to convey and what the journalist actually reports, there should be little difference. Unfortunately that is not always the case, especially here in Australia.

Even though this conference is short and the program tightly scheduled, I believe there will be ample opportunity to discuss all these issues and I do believe that at the end of this conference we will all be more enlightened about the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship and also better able to contribute positively to that relationship.

On behalf of the Indonesian Embassy, I would like to extend my appreciation to all who have sponsored and provided assistance, both financial as well as non-financial, to make this conference a success.

We also wish to extend special appreciation to the Australian National University which has continuously provided many facilities for any activities held by our Indonesian students.

I would like to thank all the speakers and participants in this conference. Your ideas will certainly give positive contributions to the endeavour of promoting better Australia-Indonesia relations.

I express my admiration to the Indonesian Students' Association in the ACT as well as those involved in the preparation of this conference and I wish all the best to the speakers and participants.

Let. me now conclude by saying that geography has made Australia and Indonesia neighbours, our early history has made us friendly, and economic and security necessities have made us partners who share the responsibility of maintaining peace and stability, as well as promoting prosperity within the region. We realise that political and cultural differences have sometimes caused misperceptions and misunderstandings but we must be willing to have honest disagreements and be able to manage them rationally. Therefore, what nature and necessity have joined together, it is our duty to nurture carefully, that is, the relationship between the two countries, and this conference is one very important contribution towards that objective.

Thank you.