PRESS RELEASE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia & New Zealand
10 Macquarie Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
AUSTRALIA
Contact: Laura Artinian
Tel: (02) 9419-8056
Fax: (02) 9904-8446
Email: armenian@idx.com.au

ARCHBISHOP AGHAN BALIOZIAN AMONG A TEN-PERSON DELEGATION FROM AUSTRALIA TO
VISIT INDONESIA FOR DIALOGUE ON INTERFAITH COOPERATION

Sydney, Thursday 9th December 2004 – The 10-person delegation from
Australia arrived this morning after participating in a Dialogue
on Interfaith Cooperation in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The Dialogue
involved religious leaders from the major faiths and religions and
Interfaith experts from the South East Asia region that included
Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar,
New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand,
Timor Leste and Viet Nam. The theme of the Dialogue was “Dialogue on
Interfaith Cooperation: Community Building and Harmony”.

At the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, the
Hon. Alexander Downer M.P., His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian,
Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Australia
and New Zealand, was among the delegation from Australia that included
six Christian leaders representing the Catholic, Anglican, Uniting,
Lutheran and Armenian Orthodox Churches, plus representatives from
the Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu faiths.

The Dialogue on Interfaith Cooperation is a joint Australia-Indonesia
initiative announced by Mr Downer and his Indonesian counterpart,
H.E. Dr N. Hassan Wirajuda at the ASEAN meetings in Jakarta in July.

The broad objective of the Dialogue is to convene discussion
among world denominations and to foster greater understanding and
cooperation between the various faith communities in the region.
By working together more closely, there is also much potential to
resolve the challenges that face communities today.

On his return, Archbishop Aghan said “It was a high level delegation
that demonstrated a mutual respect and understanding toward differing
faiths and beliefs. It is with real hope that the dialogue will
continue to create real harmony in the region.”

The organising of the Dialogue is a reflection of the good relationship
between the Republic of Indonesia and Australia. It provides a
strong basis for reinforcing mutually beneficial ties between the two
countries and in this case, a good understanding of interfaith issues.