Blood may be thicker than water, but physical proximity oftentimes is far more important than even your immediate relatives. What good is a close relative who lives a distance away when you are in dire need of help?

Your next-door neighbors, by contrast, will always be there for you. In times of emergency, you have no one else to turn to but your neighbors. That is, of course, assuming that you get on well with them.

Relations between Indonesia and Australia in some ways are heading in this direction. Two neighbors who have had more than their share of rows are now determined to live more in the spirit of cooperation. Call it neighborliness. They know that their fates and fortunes are tied together because of their geographical proximity.

A two-day conference on Indonesian-Australian relations, which got underway Thursday in Sydney, seeks to broaden and deepen these ties. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will give the keynote address to the gathering that involves 60 people from both sides selected from the government, business sector and civil society…click here to read the rest of the article.