SENIOR OFFICIAL PUBLICLY ENDORSES COMPREHENSIVE

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000736


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TAGS: PREL PGOV ID
SUBJECT: SENIOR OFFICIAL PUBLICLY ENDORSES COMPREHENSIVE
PARTNERSHIP


1. A senior official in the Indonesian Department of Foreign
Affairs has publicly endorsed the idea of a new partnership
between the United States and Indonesia. Retno L.P. Marsudi,
Director General for America and Europe, made the endorsement
in an opinion piece in the English-language Jakarta Post on
April 27. Marsudi recently returned from a week of meetings
and consultations with U.S. and Indonesian officials in
Washington, D.C., on this issue. The endorsement is the
GOI's first public statement on the issue since the Secretary
and Foreign Minister Wirajuda jointly called for a
Comprehensive Partnership during the Secretary's visit to
Indonesia in February. The following text is verbatim as
printed in the newpaper.


2. TEXT OF JAKARTA POST ARTICLE

"Indonesia, the US: A New Partnership"
Retno L.P. Marsudi
The Jakarta Post, Monday, April 27, 2009

One could say that observing Indonesia-US relations has
become more interesting since the Obama administration came
into power, particularly after the visit of US state
secretary Hillary Clinton to Jakarta in February 2009.

Indonesia-US relations have been and will always be a very
important factor for both countries' foreign affairs. As the
largest country in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is home to the
largest Muslim population in the world and is the fourth most
populous country in the world.

At the same time, as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
mentioned during a speech at the London School of Economic
and Political Sciences, Indonesia's history has never been an
easy one, an epic story of survival against the odds.

However, such a picture of disorder and uncertainty no longer
captures the Indonesia of today. Having overcome its trials
and tribulations, Indonesia is now a resilient country that
plays an active role in many strategic international issues
such as climate change, interfaith dialogue, democracy as
well as peace and security.

Amid the current international financial crisis, Indonesia
remains as one of a handful of countries that continue to
post positive projections of economic growth.

In March 2009, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) announced that Indonesia was one of the
best performing economies. In addition, Indonesia has also
recently taken the opportunity to play an active role in the
G20.

Indonesia is now the third largest democracy in the world.
The legislative election on April 9, 2009 was on the whole a
fair, peaceful and transparent process.

Indeed, Indonesia's democracy has achieved a point of no
return, transforming the country into a progressive force in
the international arena.

During Clinton's visit to Indonesia, she mentioned that as a
country with the largest Muslim population, Indonesia is able
to harmonize Islam, democracy, modernity and women's
empowerment.

For Indonesia, the US was, is and will remain an important
partner, particularly considering the latter's significant
role in international affairs. The US possesses everything
that a major power requires: a large population, a vast
territory, a strong economy, a mighty military and so on. In
general, relations between Indonesia and the US have been
positive and stable, but remain "full of surprises".

Bilateral trade has increased from year to year, with figures
reaching US$21.7 billion in 2008, which is around 17 percent
more than the total for 2007 ($18.5 billion). The US is also
among the biggest foreign investors in Indonesia.

Growing cooperation can also be seen in issues such as
counter-terrorism, defense, education, and the Millennium
Challenge Corporation. With such growth in relations as a
backdrop, it comes as no surprise that the US decided to lift
its travel ban on Indonesia.

During Clinton's visit to Indonesia, both governments agreed
to develop a comprehensive partnership. Questions did emerge
in response to the decision to establish such a relationship:

If the progress in bilateral relations in the past few years
has been achieved without a comprehensive partnership, why
now is there a sudden desire by both governments to broaden
and deepen their relations through a comprehensive
partnership mechanism?

In general, a comprehensive partnership reflects a certain
level of maturity in bilateral relations between the two
countries. It is a partnership that should always be based
on equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit.

Trust and transparency also become very significant elements.
All in all, every effort should be made to ensure that these
requirements are in place in order for the partnership to
work.

A Comprehensive Partnership provides a framework for the
further strengthening of bilateral relations. It should be
flexible, open and adjustable to dynamic and rapid
developments in bilateral and international relations.

A Comprehensive Partnership should bring added value to the
current bilateral relations. It should be innovative and
capable of offering both traditional and innovative
approaches to fulfilling the targets of the partnership.

In as such, failure to attain such added value would make the
partnership merely an example of political bureaucracy.
Thus, deliverables become a very important element in its
success.

Priorities of cooperation could be wide ranging, from the
climate change issue to energy security, food security,
education, health, exchanges, economics and development,
defense, peace and security.

The election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the US
provides a golden opportunity for both countries to develop
their relations. For the first time, there is a US president
who has certain emotional ties with Indonesia.

The change in the US administration, particularly the "O
factor", and recent positive developments in Indonesia's
domestic situation, were indeed among reasons for Indonesia
to be chosen as one of the countries visited by the Clinton
during her first trip abroad.

For the first time, most of Indonesia has high expectations
for improved relations with the US. The same could also be
said of the Americans. During my official visit to the US a
couple of days ago, I sensed the same expectation and clear
optimism that the US should have better relations with
Indonesia.

Bader, the senior director of the US National Security
Council, mentioned that never before had Indonesia and the US
had such a good opportunity in their bilateral relations.

While good relations are seen at the government level, can
the same be said of the relations among Indonesians and
Americans at the grass-root level?

The relations at grass-roots levels or through
people-to-people contact remain at farer (sic) distance
compared to those enjoyed at the government level.
Consequently, every effort must be made to bring these two
peoples closer.

In any democratic country, civil society plays a significant
role in shaping the government policy, reflecting the general
interest of the people. In the post-9/11 period, there were
feelings of "distrust" between the two countries' peoples.
As a pre-requisite to embarking on a new partnership, efforts
are needed to remove such "distrust".

Policies in favor of strengthening people-to-people, contact
should be adopted in immigration, education, intercultural
and interfaith dialogues and education cooperation, and
exchanges should be undertaken to strengthen this contact.

When receiving the visit of secretary Clinton in February
2009, President Yudhoyono mentioned that improving
people-to-people contact through education should become a
priority in the bilateral relations agenda of the two
countries.

The benefits of adopting the new Comprehensive Partnership
are obvious. The priorities are also clearly mentioned. It
is now an urgent need for Indonesia and the US to seize the
momentum - now, not later. Momentum never lasts long; it is
a brief opportunity that should be acted on immediately.

In the mean time, special attention should also be paid to
managing peoples high expectations. Failure to fulfill such
expectations would be counter-productive and the success of
the Partnership would depend on how both countries are able
to bring more deliverables as "the meat" of the relations.
Otherwise, the Comprehensive Partnership would end up
becoming yet another sleeping document.

Hopes are high that the two countries' leaders would find a
good time to officially announce the establishment of the
Comprehensive Partnership. Together, between the governments
and between the two peoples, we can make it happen.

END TEXT

HUME