PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR ON STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000054 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MLS, EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP, EAP/EX, OBO/RE/AQD, OBO/PD/PEA NSC FOR E.PHU DEPT PLEASE PASS TO THE TRANSITION TEAM E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/12/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV OVIP ABLD AMGT ID SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR ON STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AND POTUS INVITATION REF: JAKARTA 40 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires John A. Heffern, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Charge raised the proposed U.S.-Indonesia Strategic Partnership with Presidential Advisor Dino Djalal on January 9. Djalal underscored President Yudhoyono's personal interest in the Strategic Partnership and promised the he (Djalal) would work directly with us on the matter. Djalal said President Yudhoyono (SBY) would soon write President-elect Obama inviting him to address a major Islamic economic conference in Jakarta by video in March. He promised to look into the current logjam over permission to purchase land needed for construction of a new Embassy building. Charge briefed Djalal on the ongoing difficulty renewing visas for staff of the U.S. Naval Medical Research Laboratory (NAMRU-2) in Jakarta. END SUMMARY. STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP ¶2. (C) Concerning the U.S.-Indonesia Strategic Partnership that President Yudhoyono had proposed in Washington in November, Charge noted that Mission was exploring the idea with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) in an effort to gain a better understanding of Indonesia's vision for the partnership. Charge said we should first finalize a number of bilateral initiatives that were near completion, including the Defense Cooperation MOU, Fulbright MOU, and Biosecurity Engagement Program MOU. This would give us momentum toward the Partnership and clear the ground for new initiatives. ¶3. (C) Djalal agreed that we should move forward as soon as possible on those bilateral agreements and initiatives that were near completion. He said President Yudhoyono was personally interested in the Strategic Partnership and would follow the matter closely. Djalal promised to work closely with Mission and with DEPLU in future discussions regarding the Partnership. (Note: Although Djalal was not familiar with the details of the Defense MOU negotiations, his premise that individual cooperation agreements should be concluded ahead of the broader Strategic Partnership may provide some leverage to move the Indonesian Departments of Defense and Foreign Affairs--reftel--toward the U.S. preference for an early conclusion of a Defense MOU. End Note.) MARCH CONFERENCE IN JAKARTA ¶4. (C) Presidential Advisor Dino Djalal told the Charge on January 9 that President Yudhoyono was planning to invite President-elect Obama to address the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Jakarta on March 2. (Note: The WIEF is an annual gathering of political and economic leaders from across the Muslim world. The 2008 WIEF took place in Kuwait.) Djalal said President Yudhoyono realized that it might not be possible for the President-elect to travel so soon after his inauguration and would propose that Mr. Obama address the gathering through a live video link. He added that the GOI expected numerous Muslim heads of state and government to participate, including Malaysian PM Abdullah Badawi. ¶5. (C) Charge noted that President Yudhoyono had spoken to the President-elect shortly after the election and invited him to come to Jakarta when he traveled to the region for the APEC Meeting in November. He asked whether the president's office had any further thoughts on this. Djalal said SBY was very excited about a possible November visit. He confirmed that SBY would welcome the Pesident-elect's visiting Jakarta in November or for the WIEF in March should that be possible. EMBASSY LAND JAKARTA 00000054 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Charge noted that the USG had not received permission to purchase the land necessary to build a new Embassy in Jakarta. Several GOI officials had told Mission that all outstanding questions--including the height of the building and security for the Vice President's office, adjacent to the Embassy compound--had been resolved. However, the Minister of Finance had not yet approved the land sale and had provided no explanation for the delay. Charge urged that the GOI act quickly or Mission would be forced to delay the start of the $300 million project. ¶7. (C) Djalal agreed it was important to move forward as quickly as possible with construction of a new Embassy building. He said State Secretary Hatta Rajasa was the key official on this matter and promised to discuss it with him. Djalal said he would urge Rajasa to facilitate the approval as quickly as possible. NAMRU VISAS ¶8. (C) Charge updated Djalal on DEPLU's currnnt refusal to renew visas for personnel assignedt o NAMRU. Charge stressed that failure to renewvvisas for key American staff would effectively rs"ult in NAMRU's closure as early as July. If this happened, there was little likelihood NAMRU-2 woudd restart its operations in Indonesia--even if te GOI signaled a readiness to conclude a new MOU after the elections. Closure would effectively end the negotiations. Djalal took these points on board. HEFFERN