Denpasar: Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull will attempt to repair damaged Indonesia-Australia relations during a meeting with President Joko Widodo on Monday.
The former prime minister is a close friend of Mr Widodo, widely known as Jokowi, and his trip comes less than two weeks after Mr Morrison flagged Australia could move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and recognise Jerusalem as that nation’s capital.
The shock proposal ahead of the Wentworth byelection prompted an angry response from Indonesia, Malaysia, and large swathes of the Arab world because of the perceived snub to the Palestinian cause, even leading to suggestions the Indonesia-Australia free trade agreement – which has been agreed but not signed – could be axed.
Mr Turnbull’s attendance at the summit has been met with an angry reaction from the conservative wing of the Coalition government. Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, for example, said “there should have been a bit more thought put into this, I don’t think it’s the right move”.
Read the article by James Massola & Amilia Rosa in The Australian.