VIVAnews – The Indonesian government will soon advance the defense cooperation with the Australian government. The cooperation will be made into an agreement on a thorough defense affiliation.
“The MoU is being composed by the Defense Department [to create] a thorough partnership on defense sector,” said Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro in Jakarta on Monday, Oct. 26.
Yusgiantoro said that the cooperation is a continuance of the discussion between the Indonesian and Australian government in 2006. “This is an implementation of the Lombok Treaty,” he added.
He also said that one of the issues to be managed is the people smuggling case. “The leading sector will be handled by the Foreign Affairs Department,” he said.
In the meeting, Yusgiantoro expressed his gratitude to the Australian government for helping Indonesia in fighting terrorism and disaster management.
Indonesia has become the gateway for asylum seekers who wish to flee to Australia.
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Translated by: Ariyantri E. Tarman
