Appointments to the board of the Australia-Indonesia Institute

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Media Release

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer

22 June 2001

I am today announcing the appointments of Mr Rowan Callick and Mr David J Ritchie to the Board of the Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII). Both appointments are part-time and will be for a period of three years.

Mr Callick, who is the Australian Financial Review's Asia-Pacific Editor and a senior and respected journalist, is joining the Board as its media representative and Mr Ritchie, a senior diplomat, as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade representative.

With an annual budget of $900,000 the AII plays a very significant role in promoting greater mutual understanding between Australia and Indonesia through contact and people exchange across a range of sectors, including the arts, education, media, youth exchange and civil society.

The work of the AII is an important complement to the normal diplomatic interaction between Australia and Indonesia, especially at this time when Indonesia is undergoing significant change.

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