Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, just back from a peacemaking mission to the Middle East, was to meet Friday with Indonesian Foreign minister Marty Natalegawa as part of a first "Joint Commission" between the countries.
Lower-ranking officials opened talks on Thursday. US officials said they wanted to find ways to expand on earlier agreements -- including on climate change and education -- and also to reach beyond bilateral concerns.
"The US looks to Indonesia because we can be global partners," a US official said. "If you look at Asia, it is one of the very few of what I would say medium-sized powers that have global ambitions."
Another US official said that a key task was to start cooperation between counterparts in the US and Indonesian governments who have had little interaction with each other.
"There wasn't necessarily a problem before, but just we weren't working together, talking together, as much as we could have been," the official said.
President Barack Obama's administration has pledged a new emphasis on Southeast Asia, charging that the previous George W. Bush administration neglected the dynamic region because it was preoccupied with wars.
Indonesia is considered a key US priority as the country practices a moderate form of Islam and has rapidly democratised in recent years. Obama spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, giving the US leader an unprecedented personal connection.
But Obama has twice put off trips to Indonesia due to domestic issues. However, Obama will welcome Southeast Asian leaders at a summit next week in New York.
Source : http://www.intellasia.net/news/articles/regional/111304302.shtml - Sept 18, 2010
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