MELBOURNE, May 25 (Bernama) -- Australia expects to finalise an asylum-seeker swap deal with Malaysia in "coming weeks."
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen told ABC Radio on Wednesday he is "very satisfied" with the progress of negotiations between Canberra and Kuala Lumpur over a final agreement that will allow Australia to swap 800 asylum seekers for 4,000 people from Malaysia who have already been granted refugee status.
When pressed on what "coming weeks" meant, the minister said: "Weeks, not months."
Bowen said Australia was keen to pursue similar agreements with other nations in the region.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has said Indonesia preferred to focus on expanding a regional framework, according to the Australian Associated Press.
"What Indonesia has been doing with Australia is to develop the regional architecture... so we have not been contemplating a bilateral approach," he said as he emerged from talks as part of a meeting of foreign ministers from around the globe being held in Bali.
Natalegawa did, however, describe the deal between Australia and Malaysia as having potential in terms of complementing wider regional efforts aimed at combating people smuggling and stopping the flow of asylum-seeker boats.
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