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oreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and her Australian counterpart Julie Bishop met in Padang, West Sumatra on Friday to discuss the enhancement of bilateral relations between Indonesia and Australia.

Retno conveyed the government'€™s appreciation of Australia'€™s assistance in mitigating the widespread forest and peat land fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

They also discussed the planned visit by Australia'€™s newly appointed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull sometime this year.

'€œWe talked about a plan for the new PM of Australia to visit Indonesia, looking to get the timing right. But it won'€™t be long until the PM will embark on his visit,'€ Retno said at a press conference on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers Meeting in Padang.

Turnbull'€™s visit will be his first in his capacity as prime minister. Previously, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo phoned the Liberal Party leader to congratulate him on his appointment last month.

'€œ[Turnbull and Jokowi] had a very constructive and positive conversation about PM Turnbull taking office and we'€™re looking forward to establishing a rapport with our two leaders as we continue to work together as neighbors, as friends and as partners in so many of the regional and global challenges,'€ Minister Bishop said.

On Sep. 14, Turnbull took over the reigns as prime minister after an internal Liberal Party ballot that saw his predecessor Tony Abbott lose the premiership after just two years in office. Turnbull previously held the position of communications minister in Abbott'€™s administration.

Meanwhile, the two foreign ministers have also been engaging closely to schedule a series of ministerial-level visits between the respective governments until the end of the year.

Retno said that Investment Coordinating Board (BPKM) Franky Sibarani would be back in Australia next month to follow up on his earlier visit in August.

She also elaborated on the planned '€œtwo-plus-two'€ meeting of the ministers of defense and foreign affairs from both countries, which is set to take place on Dec. 21 in Jakarta.

Plans to improve on trade and investment opportunities between the two countries are also underway, Retno continued, with Australia planning to bring a large delegation comprising ministers and businesspeople to Indonesia.

'€œ[Australian] Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb will be in Indonesia between Nov. 17 and 20 with a delegation of five Australian ministers and about 250 businesspeople from Australia to meet with their counterparts to discuss opportunities to enhance trade and investment and our economic ties,'€ Bishop said.

Bishop added that both ministers also reiterated their plans to open a new consulate general in Makassar, South Sulawesi '€” a plan previously brought up in the recent Kuala Lumpur meeting.

They also sought solutions to the common challenges resulting from overseas conflicts.

'€œWe had a discussion about the Middle East, Syria, Iran and the complexities of that scenario, and the way forward to see if we can find a political solution to overcome the conflict and stop the humanitarian crisis that is continuing to unfold,'€ she explained.

Besides Australia, Indonesia also held a number of bilateral meetings with IORA member countries, such as with the state minister for development of India'€™s Northeastern region, Gen. (ret.) Vijay Kumar Singh, as well as deputy minister-level meetings with counterparts from Kenya and Egypt.

Retno welcomed India'€™s Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari'€™s plan to visit the country from Nov. 1'€“4, where he will meet with Vice President Jusuf Kalla to discuss the improvement of bilateral relations between the countries.