Canberra – The threat of a terrorist attack had receded enough to allow a full reopening of the Australian Embassy in East Timor, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today.
The decision to reopen the embassy came as an international terrorism expert warned Australia could be a target because it was part of the global economy.
President of the American-based Terrorism Research Centre Matthew Devost warned Australia not to be caught unawares.
"We don't want to be caught by surprise, we need to think from the perspective of everything is a target, and work from there," he told the Seven Network.
"An attack that was perpetrated here would have reverberations throughout the world, it would have impacts on the global economy. It could be used to demonstrate a capability."
He said it was more attractive to terrorists to act in the United States but attacks could occur where they thought they would have the highest likelihood of success.
Mr Devost is visiting Australia under the sponsorship of the US State Department and has spoken to government and academics.
The Australian Embassy in the East Timor capital, Dili, was closed earlier this month after generic threats to Australian and United Nations facilities around the anniversary of the September 11 suicide attacks in the US.
"We think the threat is receding," Mr Downer told the Nine Network. "We're changing our consular advice and instead of saying that we would urge Australians not to go to East Timor on non-essential business, we're saying that it will be all right for them to go as long as they remain aware of security risks in East Timor."
The embassy had been operating on a skeleton staff recently, but from tomorrow it would be business as usual.
"But we will still be maintaining pretty tight security, including some Australian soldiers protecting the Australian residential compound and the Australian Embassy," Mr Downer said.
Embassy staff who voluntarily repatriated to Australia following the threats have returned to Dili.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warns Australians to bear in mind the general need for caution near the border with Indonesia.