IN LULA'S VISIT, GOI-BRAZIL HIGHLIGHT ENVIRONMENT,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001346 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, WHA, WHA/BSC, IO, IO/UNP NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2018 TAGS: PREL SENV UNSC ID BR SUBJECT: IN LULA'S VISIT, GOI-BRAZIL HIGHLIGHT ENVIRONMENT, UNSC MEMBERSHIP REF: JAKARTA 1242 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4 (b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: During his July 11-12 visit to Jakarta, Brazilian President da Silva signed cooperation agreements on biofuels development and education. President Yudhoyono also endorsed Lula's call for expansion of the UN Security Council and seemed to voice outright support for Brazil's candidacy for a permanent UNSC seat. Brazil is generally off the scope for Indonesians, but an adviser to President Yudhoyono told us that the GOI was keen to welcome Lula, who is seen as an ally on many North-South issues. END SUMMARY. SIGNING SEVERAL ACCORDS ¶2. (U) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited Indonesia, July 11-12. He met President Yudhoyono, House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Agung Laksono, and People's Consultative Assembly Chair--and possible vice-presidential candidate--Hidayat Nur Wahid. Lula arrived in Jakarta after his visit to Japan for G-8-related meetings and a one-day visit to Timor-Leste, another former Portugese colony. Yudhoyono announced that he would accept Lula's invitation to visit Brazil by the end of 2008. ¶3. (U) During the visit, Brazil and Indonesia signed a number of cooperation agreements on the environmental front. They agreed to work together on research and development of ethanol. The two countries also signed an education cooperation agreement that will send Indonesian students to Brazil to study agriculture and alternative energy. Finally, the two leaders pledged to work together to prevent deforestation. DISCUSSING UN REFORM ¶4. (U) As expected, the perennial topic of United Nations reform came up during the visit. The UN system must be reformed to accommodate the contemporary global situation, Yudhoyono told reporters after meeting with Lula. He agreed with Lula's call for expansion of the UN Security Council's permanent membership and indicated that Indonesia would support Brazil's candidacy for a permanent seat. Yudhoyono also suggested that Indonesia--as the world's most populous Muslim country--would seek permanent membership in a reformed UNSC. ¶5. (C) Indonesia's Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) later seemed to walk back from the President's forward-leaning statements on the UNSC. According to our contact, the GOI supports UNSC reform but--Yudhoyono's comments notwithstanding--has not actually decided whether it supports expanding the number of permanent UNSC members. According to Fikry Cassidy, Deputy Director of DEPLU's Directorate for International Security and Disarmament Affairs--the GOI office that handles UNSC affairs, the GOI has not decided whether to support any state's candidacy for a new permanent seat nor has it decided whether to put itself forward for such a seat. Cassidy said DEPLU would seek clarification of SBY's remarks but added that Indonesia's position on the UNSC has not changed as far as he knows. BRAZIL SEEN AS A FRIEND ¶6. (C) Given the tyranny of distance, Brazil is generally off the scope for Indonesians. That said, an adviser to President Yudhoyono told us that the Brazilian government is seen an ally on North-South issues. Brazil is also seen as a growing world power that has effectively dealt with energy issues while improving its economy, factors which make it increasingly important to Indonesia. The GOI welcomed Lula in that positive spirit. JAKARTA 00001346 002 OF 002 HUME