Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese MP, visited Makassar on 7 June 2022 as part of his first official visit to Indonesia after serving as Prime Minister.
The Australian government has collaborated with South Sulawesi in various fields which have been planned since 2012 until now. In a Letter of Intent between the South Sulawesi Provincial Government of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) and the Australia - Indonesia Center (AIC) regarding strengthening the quality of education, health, infrastructure, tourism, environment, agriculture, livestock and animal health.
Starting from 2020 the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) collaborates to facilitate the South Sulawesi Provincial Government in designing the concept of transportation development in the Mamminasata Region in the field of transportation mobility.
The concept that has been prepared will further strengthen the integrated planning framework in terms of urban infrastructure. In this case, transportation, both in terms of road facilities and infrastructure, in terms of accessibility in corridors of main routes, vehicle facilities, and areas to be traversed, must be arranged both in markets and shopping centers.
One of the programs carried out by the collaboration between Australia, namely the AIC PAIR research program since 2019 focusing on four areas that are very important for economic and social development which has resulted in many interesting research for Bronwyn Robbins which has the potential to improve the handling and recovery of COVID-19 in South Sulawesi , not only in terms of health, but also socially and economically.
The essence of this work is how South Sulawesi and Australia have strong cooperation and provide maximum benefits for the people of South Sulawesi," said Dr. Eugene Sebastian, Executive Director of AIC.
In the field of animal husbandry and agriculture, the South Sulawesi Provincial Government will provide land in collaboration with Perusda. Including with the hope of transferring expertise in this field. It is hoped that the South Sulawesi provincial government will help experts from Australia to optimize production and even packaging in agriculture owned by South Sulawesi.
For example, the quality of South Sulawesi seaweed is good, but in the process it has decreased, for example during drying or shipping. The potential for seaweed cooperation is also great. In addition they plan to develop a vocational school.
For example, for industrial vocations, the Provincial Government will provide supporting infrastructure such as practical tools and laboratories needed. Australia, which has world-class experts, is expected to have a role in sending its experts to teach. As a first step, Australian experts can teach at schools that are used as pilot projects.
The Australian Consulate General in Makassar, Bronwyn Robbins said Australia was interested in working with South Sulawesi in the areas of animal husbandry, agriculture, maritime affairs, tourism and small industry and to further optimize the cooperation that has been established. Australia also wants to share its expertise in certain fields.
the Australian ambassador to Indonesia, Penny Williams PSM made her first working visit to South Sulawesi on Sunday, 31 October 2021. She was received directly by the Acting Governor of South Sulawesi, Andi Sudirman Sulaiman, at the Governor's Office of South Sulawesi. The meeting discussed and deepened bilateral cooperation with South Sulawesi, namely the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) and the economic catalyst cooperation program, paving the way for further economic partnerships between Australia and South Sulawesi.