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New mega embassy reveals 'breadth' of RI-Australia ties
Office warming: Aboriginal leader Shirley Drill (left) performs a traditional smoking ceremony with Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson (second right) as Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop and Australian Ambassador to ASEAN Simon Merrifield look on during the opening of a new Australian Embassy in Jakarta on Monday
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Office warming: Aboriginal leader Shirley Drill (left) performs a traditional smoking ceremony with Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson (second right) as Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop and Australian Ambassador to ASEAN Simon Merrifield look on during the opening of a new Australian Embassy in Jakarta on Monday. The 50,000-square-meter complex is Australiaâs largest diplomatic mission in the world.(JP/Seto Wardhana) (left) performs a traditional smoking ceremony with Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson (second right) as Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop and Australian Ambassador to ASEAN Simon Merrifield look on during the opening of a new Australian Embassy in Jakarta on Monday. The 50,000-square-meter complex is Australiaâs largest diplomatic mission in the world.(JP/Seto Wardhana)
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span class="caption">Office warming: Aboriginal leader Shirley Drill (left) performs a traditional smoking ceremony with Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson (second right) as Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop and Australian Ambassador to ASEAN Simon Merrifield look on during the opening of a new Australian Embassy in Jakarta on Monday. The 50,000-square-meter complex is Australia's largest diplomatic mission in the world.(JP/Seto Wardhana)
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop inaugurated the nation's new embassy in Jakarta on Monday, now Australia's largest embassy worldwide, symbolizing 'the breadth and the depth' of the relationship between the two countries.
Marking the start of her three-day visit to the archipelago, Bishop spent her first day in Jakarta at the opening ceremony of the embassy, a massive complex in Patra Kuningan area, not far from the embassy's previous location.
The new state-of-the-art embassy has been 12 years in the making, with talks about the highly secure facility beginning after the terrorist bombing at the embassy in 2004.
A traditional Aboriginal ceremony and a multi-faith prayer recital marked the launch of the massive new complex, which is set on a 50,000 square meter plot of land and cost US$315 million to build.
'This is our largest overseas diplomatic post and will be a symbol of the breadth and the depth and the importance of this relationship between Australia and Indonesia,' Bishop said on Monday.
Australian media ABC wrote that the compound was able to withstand a one in 2,500-year earthquake and could move 600 millimeters in any direction.
Beside the new embassy, Bishop is slated to open a new Australian Consulate General in Makassar, underscoring wider understanding of the need to develop economic ties in regions other than Jakarta.
'Makassar, the fifth-largest city in Indonesia, is a booming economic location and we want to ensure that Australia and Indonesia can partner in trade, investment and deepening the economic opportunities between our countries,' Bishop added.
The new embassy underscored two countries commitment to reinvigorating multi-faceted bilateral cooperation.
During bilateral talks between Bishop and Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, the two ministers agreed that the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) would recommence shortly.
'We warmly welcome and note the progress that we had in the past three months. First, is our commitment and our agreement to accept the negotiation in the context of Indonesia-Australia CEPA,' Retno said.
The third round of negotiations will start in May, continuing the March 14'18 talks between ministers of the two countries.
Australia is Indonesia's 12th largest trade partner and foreign investor in 2015. A two-way trade in 2015 reached US$8.49 billion.
Bishop said CEPA would be yet another example of the strength and diversity of the relationship between the two countries. 'Our business links deepen to ' our trade [value] is somewhere around $15 billion but there is unlimited potential for us to increase that level of economic engagement for the benefit of both our economies and of course promotion of jobs,' Bishop added.
The two also talked about enhancing education cooperation with the implementation of the New Colombo Plan, under which Indonesia is the most popular destination of 37 countries for Australian students. By the end of 2016, the program's third year, 2,000 Australian students would be studying in Indonesia as part of the New Colombo Plan, Bishop said.
Retno added that Indonesia had 17,000 students studying in Australia, and that Indonesia offered some scholarships for Australian students.
'Those are the bilateral issues we discussed; a very positive tone and very progressive compared to three months [ago when] we met in Sydney, and we have a very strong commitment to move forward in an even better and stronger way,' Retno added.
