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CANBERRA : Indonesia's president was handed Australia's highest civilian honour on Tuesday as he arrived for a historic visit expected to help bury tensions and fight people-smuggling and extremism.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was greeted by a 21-gun salute and a military band as he flew into Canberra, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Governor-General Quentin Bryce waiting on the red carpet.
Yudhoyono, who will become the first Indonesian leader to address a joint sitting of Australia's parliament on Wednesday, was later appointed an honorary companion of the Order of Australia for his work after the 2002 Bali bombing.
"President Yudhoyono is a true friend of Australia. Under his leadership, the relationship between our two nations has grown stronger," Rudd said.
He added that Wednesday's speech would be an "important milestone" between the neighbouring countries, which are frequently at odds but hope to expand two-way trade of 9.3 billion Australian dollars (8.5 billion US dollars).
"Tomorrow will symbolise how far we have come and how we are both committed to taking this relationship even further," Rudd told parliament.
"We are working together to tackle challenges like people-smuggling, trans-national crime and people-trafficking. We are also close partners in the fight against terrorism," he added.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith acknowledged problems between the sprawling, mainly Muslim archipelago of 230 million, and his Western-focused country of 22 million, separated by just a couple of kilometres of sea.
"Because we are such close neighbours there will always be issues," Smith told Sky News.
"But the strength of the relationship these days is that we can have issues which may well be difficult, whether it's issues of capital punishment, people smuggling or the Balibo Five for example."
Australia has long complained over the transit of rickety people-smuggling boats via Indonesia, including dozens in recent months that have stretched Australia's main immigration centre to breaking point.
In September, Australia angered Jakarta by opening a war-crimes probe into the 1975 killing of the "Balibo Five" journalists by Indonesian troops in East Timor.
The countries have also clashed over death sentences handed to three of the "Bali Nine" drug-smugglers, while the Australian public was incensed at the 20-year term given to beautician Schapelle Corby for drug offences in 2005.
However, the two sides have enjoyed strong cooperation against extremism, including after the 2002 Bali blasts, which killed 88 Australians. Yudhoyono, as security minister, oversaw the investigation into the attack.
Three Australians were killed in bomb attacks on two luxury Jakarta hotels in July last year, while the Australian embassy in the city was car-bombed in 2004, killing nine.
- AFP/ir
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