Tony Abbott visits Indonesia amid tensions over asylum policy

As the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, prepares for 24 hours of high-level talks in Indonesia, his government has tried to stress the strengthening of trade and investment links between the countries rather than the troubled negotiations over asylum-seeker policy.

Mr Abbott travelled to Indonesia yesterday for an overnight visit, his first overseas trip since becoming prime minister last month. His trip includes talks with Indondesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Relations with Jakarta remain tense over his government’s strategy to stop people trying to seek asylum in Australia by sea, which includes a plan for the country’s navy to turn boats around.

'Broad-based' relationship
Mr Abbott's statement on Friday about the visit did not mention the asylum policy directly, and said Australia's relationship with Indonesia was "broad-based", spanning business, education, defence, security and "people-to-people" links.

The visit comes after the Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, held talks last week with her Indonesian counterpart, Marty Natalegawa, in New York.

During the meeting Mr Natalegawa said he had made clear Indonesia would not co-operate on an asylum seeker policy that threatened his country’s “sovereignty”.

Ms Bishop and the minister for trade, Andrew Robb, are accompanying Mr Abbott on the trip abroad, while the immigration and border protection minister, Scott Morrison, will remain in Australia.

Business aspect
On Sunday, Mr Robb released a lengthy statement emphasising the trade aspects of the visit, saying he would be focusing on deepening "regional economic integration". "As a government we are determined to demonstrate that Australia is very much open for business and that we are committed to being a stable and reliable trade and investment partner with all countries with which we share important relationships," he said.

Some 20 business people from various Australian business sectors, including agriculture, resources, banking and finance, infrastructure, manufacturing, healthcare and telecommunications, will join the prime minister on the trip and take part in meetings in Indonesia. – (Guardian service)