MP: LOMBOK AGREEMENT HELPS OVERCOME MISUNDERSTANDINGS BETWEEN INDONESIA AND AUSTRALIA

Canberra  - The security agreement signed by Indonesia and Australia in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (Indonesia), last year has served as a 'legal umbrella' to overcome any misunderstandings and will strengthen the relations between the two countries in various  sectors, a visiting Indonesian legislator said.

The ameliorating relations are not only between the Indonesian and Australian governments, but also between the two countries' parliaments, a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission I H Andi M Ghalib said in Canberra on Wednesday (23/05/07).

Andi made the remarks after he and some of his colleagues met with the Indonesian Ambassador to Australia and Vanuatu, TM Hamzah Thayeb, at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra.

He said that the good bilateral relations are also reflected in Canberra's stance of no longer considering Indonesia a dangerous country, or at least a potential threat to the continental country in the future.

"The relations with Australia have been improving thanks to our diplomats who have been working hard and making good approaches," he said. Andi and five members of the House Commission I as well as DPR's expert staff members are in Canberra untill May 27, 2007, to meet their Australian counterparts and to attend a workshop on the role of the parliamentary committee in the process of making policies on May 25. The members of the Indonesian parliamentary delegation comprised of Andi Ghalib, Sidarto Danusubroto, Abdillah Toha, Yorrys Raweyai, Marcus Silano and Suharno.

The Centre for Democratic Institutions invited the Indonesian legislators and parliament's staff members : Damayanti Harris, Esther Sianipar, Malik Haramain and Yudha Akbar Pally (Antara, 24/05/07).

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