THE SECRETARY'S INDONESIA VISIT: NEW PARTNERSHIP BEGINS

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000373 SIPDIS DEPT FOR S/P - AMSlaughter from Ambassador Hume E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO SCUL OEXC CVIS ID SUBJECT: THE SECRETARY'S INDONESIA VISIT: NEW PARTNERSHIP BEGINS WITH EDUCATION ¶1. (U) During her recent visit to Jakarta, Secretary Clinton announced that the United States and Indonesia would form a comprehensive partnership. At the heart of that partnership is recognition of the importance of education. International education is a win-win for the U.S.-Indonesian partnership; it is also an area where Secretary Clinton can carve out a new niche for the State Department. The Secretary already set some straightforward goals in this area; doubling the number of Indonesian students studying in the U.S., increasing linkages between American and Indonesian universities, and sending more American students to Indonesia. Reaching these goals will require creativity, coordination, hard work, and financial support to put in place a new architecture of collaboration. This cable outlines our road map for moving ahead on this agenda. ¶2. (SBU) Based on current estimates, doubling the number of Indonesian students in the U.S. would boost our economy by nearly $200 million per year. More importantly, many of Indonesia's senior leaders were educated in the United States, including the president, central bank chief, senior economics minister, and Minister of Defense. Numerous top business leaders, journalists, and civil society figures were also the beneficiaries of an American education. Many of these alumni have maintained an extensive network of contacts in the U.S. and time and again we've seen a direct correlation between those who support our policies and those who studied in America. It is clear that our two countries' relationship benefits from the large number of influential U.S. alumni. ¶3. (U) In recent years, many Indonesian students looking for educational opportunities have turned away from the United States, in part because of the misperception that America has become less hospitable to foreigners. But there is another, equally important reason: while we have been fighting the battle of ideas and the waging the war on terror, we failed to engage in the struggle for the minds of the next generation's leaders. At a time when governments from the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Australia were ramping up and modernizing their student recruiting operations, the U.S. Government did not. In Indonesia - and likely elsewhere - the result has been declining market share for foreign students and an erosion of our country's centrality in the global web. Our long-term position as the world's most connected country has been allowed to slip, one student at a time. ¶4. (U) Implementing the comprehensive partnership and Secretary Clinton's goals will reverse these trends, but this is largely uncharted territory. We do not believe anything like this has been attempted before in a country as large as Indonesia. Why not make Indonesia the model country for the Secretary's education vision? The Embassy is developing an action plan including traditional elements such as outreach, advising, and more pro-active marketing and public relations efforts as well as new initiatives to nurture and channel public, private, and people-to-people efforts. The Mission cannot attain these goals, however, without intellectual, policy, and financial support from Washington. ¶5. (U) The goals we've set will help cement America's status as the central player in an integrated world. They will advance our national interest. In the coming months I will travel to the U.S. to discuss ways to promote American higher education. At that time I would like to solicit your ideas on ways to encourage the academic, scientific, commercial and other linkages that should become even more important to our nation's future. Hume