Rudd to attend Bali Process IV

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd is set to attend the Fourth Bali Regional Ministerial Conference on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crimes, commonly known as the Bali Process, an official statement says.

The conference, initiated by the Indonesian and Australian governments in 2002, will be held at a hotel in Nusa Dua, Bali, from March 29 to March 30.

Rudd will join other participants from 41 participating Asia Pacific countries as well as international organizations on the second day of the conference, according to a statement made by the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“This meeting will be the first Bali Process Ministerial conference to consider the proposal for a regional cooperation framework to address the irregular movement of people and to combat people smuggling,” the statement says.

Asia Pacific countries have agreed to use the conference to find solutions to long-standing people smuggling issues that have affected many nations in the region.

The issue has been a hot political topic in Australia in regards to the continuing entrance of illegal immigrants, mostly from the Middle East, seeking refugee status and asylum in Australia.

Indonesia has been considered a vital player in the issue since the country has been used as a transit point for illegal immigrants who have also been believed to have used Indonesian people smugglers’ services to ship them to the Australian mainland.

Australia's first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, who ousted Rudd from the position last year, has made a pledge to take serious action on the issue. She proposed the establishment of refugee centers in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Timor Leste. None of the nations have made it clear whether Gillard’s proposal can be approved.

During her state visit to Indonesia in November, last year, Gillard talked to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono about the plan. Yudhoyono responded to the proposal by saying, "I hope we can discuss the idea in-depth in the upcoming Bali Process."

Rudd’s administration had been blamed for the entrance of more than 4,000 asylum seekers, mostly Afghans and Sri Lankans, using about 150 boats. Rudd’s policies made after his Labor Party won the election in 2007 were blamed for the increasing number of illegal immigrants.