Australia and Indonesia agreed on November 3 to hold a ministerial meeting between them in a bid to help restore soured relations over East Timor.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he and Indonesia's Ambassador to the United Nations, Makarim Wibisono, were both keen to improve the political relationship between the two countries.

"I'm not anticipating when and where this will happen but we think it is a good idea to have a meeting of that kind," Downer told reporters in New York.

"The signs are there from both sides that we want to start to get the relationship back on track again," he said.

Downer said that the issue of East Timor has ambushed Australia's relations with Indonesia time and time again over the last quarter of a century.

"We see that now the East Timor issue has been resolved - at least from a political sense - there is an opportunity to put the endless problems over East Timor...behind us and to move forward," he said.

Downer also said that after talks with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Australian-led multi-national force in East Timor expected a seamless handover to UN troops sometime between mid-January and early February.

Although Australia has offered to lead the UN force, Downer said if Annan chose another country in the region," we're relaxed and comfortable about that."