Australia to ease visa rules to boost Indonesian ties

CANBERRA - Australia will ease visa rules for Indonesian travellers in a bid to boost economic ties between the two countries.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Sydney for talks on visa requirements, trade and climate change.

During the Australia-Indonesia Annual Leaders' Meeting, they discussed new initiatives to enable more Australian and Indonesian professionals to work in each other's country.

This includes improved visa offerings for Indonesian business people and frequent travellers, mutual professional recognition for engineers and new pathways to support skills exchange, reported Xinhua.

Albanese said the changes would encourage more trade and investment between the nations.

"I thank President Widodo for joining me in Sydney today for warm and productive discussions at the Annual Leaders' Meeting," he said.

"Australia and Indonesia, working together, are committed to meeting the challenges and opportunities of the future."

The leaders also agreed to set up a 50 million Australian dollar (US$33.3 million) initiative under the Australia-Indonesia Climate and Infrastructure Partnership to help attract private climate finance to Indonesia and discussed electric vehicle battery production.

Indonesia was Australia's 14th-largest trading partner in 2021-22, with two-way trade between the countries totalling about 18.3 billion Australian dollars (US$12 billions), according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. - Bernama