September has brought with it much needed cooler weather, but regarding US-Indonesia relations, things are definitely heating up. The Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries, first announced in 2008, is in the process of being fleshed out: working groups focusing on education, climate change, trade and investment, science and technology, and security met on September 17 in Washington in an event called the US-Indonesian Joint Commission, chaired by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa. The Commission has plenty of work ahead of it and will need to somehow rally those outside its halls to fully implement its vision. AICC looks forward to channeling its input.President Obama finally announced he will visit Indonesia in November, sandwiched between visits to India and Korea. Even though it will be short, the visit will help solidify the important diplomatic progress that has been made since his election in 2008 and President Yudhoyono’s in 2009. Yudhoyono’s absence at the historic US-ASEAN Summit in NY could have been avoided if Obama had fulfilled his earlier commitment to visit Indonesia, but VP Boediono filled in ably and US audiences got to hear him discuss the economy, always a good thing. Traveling with Boediono was Gita Wirjawan, Chairman of the Investment Board as well as Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, head of the Presidential Working Group on government performance. These three symbolize President Yudhoyono’s transformative leadership; they are efficient, strong communicators, practical, modern, and professional. They represent the best of Indonesia. Their challenge is to overcome the anti-reform elements within the bureaucracy and Parliament.
In Dino Djalal,(pictured above) President SBY has chosen a veteran diplomat and Presidential speechwriter who has actually changed the language of Indonesian diplomacy. We have noticed that since 2004 the President’s speechs are devoid of past artifices and circumlocutions, and cut to the core of issues quickly. Having lived in the United States as an adolescent, the new Ambassador is fluent in English as well as America’s diverse culture. His own story here, where he lived with a NY family, is compelling, and will help him in his efforts to present a democratized Indonesia that few Americans really comprehend. For as long as anyone can remember, Indonesia has not had an Ambassador with this level of closeness with the country’s President. AICC looks forward to meeting with Dino next month and to a new era in US-Indonesia relations.
