COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES -- ASIA PACIFIC DEMOCRACY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 003082 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR G (JKACHTIK),S/P, EAP, EAP/MTS, DRL/MLGA NSC FOR EPHU, WONBODEN, PLETTOW E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/06/2017 TAGS: PREL KDEM UNGA ID ML SUBJECT: COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES -- ASIA PACIFIC DEMOCRACY MEETING REF: A. STATE 152803 ¶B. JAKARTA 3047 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4 (B)(D). ¶1. (C) Per Ref A, Mission provided Under Secretary Dobriansky's letter to the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) on November 6. DEPLU contacts told Pol/C that the GOI would carefully review the invitation for the November 15 meeting on the proposed Asia Pacific Democracy Partnership (APDP) initiative to be held on the margins of the Community of Democracies Ministerial in Bamako, Mali. They could not confirm whether an Indonesian representative would be able to participate in the November 15 meeting, but said they would try to confirm that soon. Pol/C urged that Indonesia participate and confirm attendance as soon as possible. ¶2. (C) As Mission has done before (Ref B),Pol/C emphasized the key point that the APDP would be a regional, multilateral grouping formed to support democratic institutions in Asia and the Pacific. It would highlight--through concrete projects--democracy's progress in the Asia/Pacific region, as well as the shared values among Asia/Pacific democracies. The APDP would complement the Community of Democracies, further building on that forum's success. Noting that the Bamako meeting would provide an excellent opportunity to discuss the initiative further and answer any GOI questions, Pol/C urged Indonesia to confirm its participation in the APDP as soon as possible. HUME