The Festival Indonesia business conference will be held in Melbourne on Thursday and Friday, September 14-15 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

With the theme, "Opportunities Next Door" the Australian state of Victoria"s Treasurer, Minister for State and Regional Development and Minister for Innovation John Brumby will provide the keynote address on Thursday morning.

Various Republic of Indonesia government ministers are also expected to attend the conference in a bid to build closer relations been Australia and Indonesia in trade, investment and tourism.

Indonesian Ambassador to Australia Muhammad Hamzah Thayeb will open the session on politics and foreign policy focus presenting a talk on "Current issues - Indonesia and Australia bilateral relationships".

Representatives from mining companies and players in the investment sector will be interested in talks by Bank of Indonesia senior deputy governor Dr Miranda Gultom who will talk about "Economic stability, sustainable growth and good governance - a new era for investing in Indonesia". Dr Miranda Gultom's presentation will be on Friday afternoon.

Chairman of the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board Muhammad Lutfi will make a presentation on the "Investment and Business Climate in Indonesia" on Friday morning.

On Friday afternoon a panel discussion with the theme: "Indonesia-Australia trade in the real world" will host a representative of the Australian mining industry.

Indonesia is Australia's closest Asian neighbour and mining companies see great potential in developing the country's rich resource base. Already a number of mining companies have mines or are developing new resource projects in Indonesia. Among these are Newcrest Mining, Archipelago, Straits Resources, Herald Resources and Austindo who have all been making headlines of late with the projects they have been progressing in Indonesia. For Thiess contractors, their work in Indonesia's coal sector is their largest in their mining business unit.

Anyone wishing to attend the Festival Indonesia Business Conference can contact Herman Andryanto on +61 3 9522 6719, mobile 0413 121 009 or email herman@festivalindonesia.com.au

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are among the miners supporting the festival.