COMPREHENSIVE PARTNERSHIP -- AMB MARCIEL'S MEETS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000883 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ID SUBJECT: COMPREHENSIVE PARTNERSHIP -- AMB MARCIEL'S MEETS WITH SENIOR GOI OFFICIAL REF: JAKARTA 798 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Ambassador Cameron R. Hume, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Indonesia would like to close the gap on several pending agreements between the GOI and the USG, a senior GOI official told Ambassador Marciel on May 21. During their meeting, Ambassador Marciel and Ambassador Marsudi confirmed the general structure and mechanisms of the proposed Comprehensive Partnership, agreed that it should be launched via a presidential joint statement, and discussed the status of key elements of the Comprehensive Partnership. END SUMMARY. SETTING THE STAGE FOR WIRAJUDA,S VISIT ¶2. (C) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Southeast Asia and Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot Marciel discussed next steps on the U.S.-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership with Ambassador Retno Marsudi, Director General for American and European Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU),on May 21. Ambassador Marsudi was eager to discuss proposed appointments and events for the Foreign Minister while he was in Washington, and reach agreement on the proposed structure and substance of the Comprehensive Partnership. She urged that the two sides discuss the areas of disagreement in several pending agreements in order to close the gap between our positions. She agreed to the idea of a joint commission to meet every two years. Ambassador Marsudi expressed hope that Secretary Clinton could assure Foreign Minister Wirajuda that President Obama would visit Indonesia in 2009 A JOINT STATEMENT ¶3. (C) Ambassador Marsudi agreed that a joint presidential statement could launch the Comprehensive Partnership. She emphasized the statement should not only announce the partnership, but also explain the goals and vision of the partnership. She did not state that the GOI wanted a signed document. Ambassador Marciel said the White House would have the lead on a joint statement, but thought it could announce the launch of the partnership and describe its content and mechanisms, though without going into detail. He suggested that a plan of action or similar document that would outline the proposed areas of cooperation could be issued subsequent to the presidents' meeting, if Indonesia wanted a detailed document. Ambassador Marsudi suggested beginning discussions on the action plan now, in advance of a possible presidential meeting. Ambassador Marciel said that the United States would provide a detailed response to Indonesia's original draft document, and that perhaps that could form the basis for discussion on a possible action plan. STATUS OF PARTNERSHIP ELEMENTS ¶4. (C) Ambassador Marciel and Ambassador Marsudi agreed that the United States and Indonesia should continue to make progress on specific agreements and initiatives that could constitute elements of the Partnership. They agreed that the immediate goal should be for Foreign Minister Wirajuda and Secretary Clinton to be able to announce progress or completion on at least a few deliverables, which might include the Peace Corps agreement, the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) deal, a portion of the education agreement, and/or the announcement of a senior official visit. Although the two agreed on what issues could be elements of the partnership, they both highlighted the need to intensify efforts to make progress over the next two weeks to ensure that the ministers would have something substantive to announce. ¶5. (C) Ambassador Marsudi was non-committal on several agreements. She said she would follow-up on the Defense Cooperation Agreement, and indicated that the BIT and OPIC required more time. She stated the GOI had no problems with the MCC Compact process, but needed to convene its team to determine the potential areas for collaboration. She did not know who would represent Indonesia at the MCC conference in Washington. The Tropical Forest Conservation Act was still pending due to disagreements on IPR and tax language. ¶6. (C) Ambassador Marsudi suggested additional elements for the partnership. She hoped that part of the Comprehensive Partnership could promote interfaith dialogue among civil society groups in both countries. She also asked for United JAKARTA 00000883 002 OF 002 States support for the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF). She suggested that the United States could provide seed money for the BDF or support the programmatic activities of the Forum. Ambassador Marciel suggested that the Forum could be used to promote human rights throughout ASEAN countries, and agreed to discuss again with relevant offices and agencies Indonesia's request. EDUCATION ¶7. (C) Although there was strong interest in Washington in a higher education partnership, Ambassador Marciel stressed that the United States still needed to agree on the framework for greater education cooperation. Ambassador Marsudi said the GOI was committed to the idea of doubling the number of Indonesian students in America and said obtaining visas for language learning was an impediment to achieving the goal. She said the GOI would be responsive to an educational partnership once there was consensus on the U.S. side. PEACE CORPS ¶8. (C) The newly revised Peace Corps counter draft still contained problematic elements. Ambassador Marsudi stated that the Peace Corps' counter draft had deleted a statement that the Peace Corps volunteers would respect Indonesian national laws and regulations. Additionally, she said that President Yudhoyono wanted the agreement to include an element of exchange. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ¶9. (C) The lack of a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) was the primary impediment to agreement on a Science and Technology Agreement, said Ambassador Marsudi. She elaborated that the MTA would be critical for agreement on NAMRU as well. DEPLU was waiting for approval from the Ministry of Health on the Biosecurity Engagement Program, which may not be forthcoming before the June visit. NAMRU VISAS 10 . (C) Ambassador Marciel also raised the issue of visas for the NAMRU staff and families. Ambassador Marciel noted that the visas for NAMRU's staff and family will expire on June 30th and that if a decision were made to close NAMRU operations, the staff would need time to close the facility. He elaborated that if the NAMRU staff were to leave Indonesia, this would de facto close the operation. Ambassador Marsudi suggested that Secretary Clinton raise the NAMRU visa issue with Foreign Minister Wirajuda while he is in Washington. PROGRESS TOWARD THE JUNE MEETING ¶11. (C) Based on this conversation, we are close to agreement on the outlines and mechanisms of a Comprehensive Partnership, but have a lot more to do on specific "deliverables." The best chance of near-term progress appears to lie with the Peace Corps agreement, the TFCA deal, and perhaps something to indicate support for the Bali Democracy Forum. ¶12. (U) DAS Marciel approved this message. HUME