Jakarta – Australia's prime minister on Sunday became the first foreign leader to visit new Indonesian President Megawati, vowing to be a good mate as his troubled neighbour moves towards democracy.

Prime Minister John Howard's fleeting visit – barely 24 hours – is also aimed at rebuilding the damage to relations over Australia's decision to lead international troops into East Timor in 1999 to restore peace after its vote for independence.After a brief courtesy call on Megawati and her deputy, Hamzah Haz, Howard told reporters the president had assembled a capable team but faced a difficult task to revive the economy and take the nation forward.

"We admire the steps being undertaken by Indonesia to emerge as a democracy and we respect and understand and are sensitive to how difficult that process is and we have got to help along the way," he said.

"That's what a good regional mate should do." Howard said Megawati, in power for less than three weeks, had expressed a desire to boost relations between the two neighbours.

"We both want a good relationship. We recognise there have been some differences in the past, but importantly there's a great deal of residual goodwill," he said.

But he cautioned against expecting too much too soon. "If you invest the relationship with too many expectations you are often disappointed," he said.

Howard is due to meet Megawati and other senior members of her government on Monday. He would not say what issues would be raised, but Megawati's chief spokesman told reporters at the palace East Timor and possibly separatist tensions in Irian Jaya would be raised.

"Both leaders want to increase cooperation, in a realistic way," said State Secretary Bambang Kesowo, who was present at the meeting between the two leaders.

Relations between the two countries hit their lowest in years after Australian troops led a United Nations-mandated force into East Timor to end a rampage of destruction and killing by pro-Jakarta militias following the vote to end more than 23 years of often brutal Indonesian occupation.

Megawati, who opposed giving East Timor a choice on independence, won power after the national assembly dumped Abdurrahman Wahid over allegations of incompetence and corruption on July 23.

Megawati, the 54-year-old daughter of Indonesia's founding father, had been Wahid's vice president.