INDONESIAN SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT SENDS LETTER TO

UNCLAS JAKARTA 002137 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, H NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KDEM ID SUBJECT: INDONESIAN SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT SENDS LETTER TO SPEAKER PELOSI ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Agung Laksono, Speaker of the Indonesian Parliament (DPR),has sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The original copy of the letter has been sent to the Speaker's Office in Washington. A scanned copy has been provided to EAP/MTS. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) In the letter, Speaker Laksono congratulates Speaker Pelosi on the U.S. elections. He outlines the agenda and activities of Indonesian Committee for Parliamentary Reform which has been working closely with Mission and the U.S. House Democracy Assistance Commission (HDAC). He explains that members and staff of this committee will be traveling to the U.S. December 2-5, 2008, and asks for Speaker Pelosi's help in supporting the visit. ¶3. (U) The text of Speaker Laksono's letter to Speaker Pelosi follows: Begin text: Jakarta, November 12, 2008 Honorable Speaker Nancy Pelosi The U.S. House of Representatives 235 Cannon HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Honorable Pelosi: Allow me to congratulate you and the people of the United States of America for the astounding results of the election that has been inspirational as well as hopeful. The Indonesian Parliament looks forward to a more committed United States to the Asian region especially to support the enhancement of democracy in the region. In Indonesia, the Parliament is fully committed to democracy enhancement by optimizing its functions in legislation, oversight and budgeting. Following the fulfillment of the function we stand for the mission to build a political system based on the merit of good governance. In line with the objectives, Indonesian Parliament is undergoing reform aimed at improving and increasing effective parliamentary mechanism, and a committee on Parliament reform formed 3 years ago has been working closely with the U.S. House Democracy Assistance Commission (HDAC) mainly dealing with important issues such as legislation process, parliament budget, internal affairs, staffing and parliament supporting system. Continued cooperation of HDAC and the Indonesian Parliament is progressing and furthering on, and a Delegation of 9 Members of Parliament concurrently also Parliamentary Reform Committee Members and 2 Staffs will travel for a study visit to Washington, D.C. from December 2 to 5, 2008, led by Deputy Chair of the Committee. They seek the opportunity for in-depth discussion and exchanges with HDAC Leaders, Experts and Senior Staffs at the Capitol Hill on issues relating to parliament empowerment. Looking forward to the success of their visit, I would like to ask your support for the Delegation. We hope that under your continued leadership cooperation between our two parliaments will steadily progress. Sincerely, /S/ HR Agung Laksono Speaker and Chairman of Parliament Reform Committee End text. HUME