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IN PHOTO: Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop delivers remarks at the opening plenary session of the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers meeting in Sydney, July 10, 2015. The key regional players in the South Pacific meet to discuss the impact on climate change on their fragile eco-systems after a string of devastating storms over the past year. REUTERS/Jason Reed

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is all set to meet her Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, next week. This is the first time any minister from both the nations will be holding a meeting with each other in the aftermath of the execution of the Bali 9 duo, as well as the turning back of boats.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marsudi said the meeting will take place as a diversion from the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meet, due to be held next week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sydney Morning Herald reported that this is the first face to face interaction between the two ministers since the death of the rehabilitated drug smugglers, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, by the firing squad, which propelled Australia to withdraw its ambassador to Jakarta, Paul Grigson, in protest. Grigson returned to his duties but was again faced with another controversy.

Australia was highly disgruntled with Indonesia’s disregard to its repeated pleas for clemency. On the other hand, when Prime Minister Tony Abbott linked the tsunami aid to Australia's bid for mercy, Indonesia was enraged to no bounds. Since then, there has been a constant tension between the two countries, whether it is over boat turn-backs by Australia or reducing the volume of live cattle import by Indonesia.

Former Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said last month that there is a sense of disconnect in the bilateral relationship of the two nations, and both private and public communications have been reduced considerably.

The News Corp reported that Justice Minister Michael Keenan will be visiting Jakarta next month, the first ministerial visit to Indonesia in a long time. The visit can be regarded as a further sign that the relationship between the two is improving. Retno is looking forward to sitting down with the foreign ministers from 11 nations that include China and Japan alongside Australia in next week’s meeting. According to a spokesperson, the bilateral talks will involve discussions on economy as well as co-operation on counter-terrorism.

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