On behalf of my government and the people of Indonesia, I firstly wish to express our heartfelt condolences for the Australians who have lost their lives or are missing, and for their families and loved ones. May God be with them.

I am deeply honoured to have this opportunity on behalf of the government and people of Indonesia to express our unmistakable and deepest gratitude to the government and people of Australia for the expressions of condolences and the assistance, both financial or otherwise, on account of the recent tragic act of nature in the Indian Ocean that claimed the lives of more than one hundred thousand Indonesians in the Indonesian provinces of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and North Sumatra and tens of thousands of citizens of our neighbouring states as well as foreign tourists from some thirty-eight countries.

The expression of your deep sorrow and the extraordinary generosity of Australians everywhere and from all walks of life have been overwhelming and a great source of consolation and strength for the survivors of this horrific tragedy, and to the Indonesian people at large.

The inescapable conclusion is that we know you care and that you faithfully accept that the magnitude of the task before us in Indonesia at present and in the years ahead is well beyond our capacity to confront unaided. For this reason we are eternally grateful for the generosity of the Australian Government for the $1 billion in aid pledged at the Jakarta Summit - we understand, the largest commitment of this type in Australia's history - but also to the mums and dads of Australia and their children, and businesses, big and small, in subscribing to the relief appeals and fund-raising events, and for the extremely moving religious services around the country.

We should particularly like to thank Australia's emergency services for their rapid response as the magnitude of the disaster began to unfold.

We are also very grateful that the aid efforts are still ongoing and note the exceptional success of the recent live concert in Sydney and numerous other ventures. The successful holding of the cricket game in Melbourne involving the world's top players, which was organised in a matter of days, was outstanding.

That Australia was first with offering aid, financial as well as in kind, demonstrates clearly that both countries are able and eager to work together. While we are inextricably bound by geography, it is therefore only logical that our two countries become even closer together.

Canberra, 16 January 2005