Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Hopes abound for Indonesia to further boost ties with the US under President Barack Obama, with the upcoming visit of his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton indicating positive signals.
US Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron R. Hume said Washington was in a "good mood" over its future relationship with Jakarta, and the new US administration under President Obama was now paying close attention to Indonesia, where he spent part of his childhood.
"US Ambassador Cameron Hume met the President and explained the results of his trip home. He just came back here, explaining the mood in Washington and the close attention that Barack Obama's administration is paying to Indonesia," Indonesian presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said after a briefing meeting between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Ambassador Hume on Friday.
"President (Yudhoyono) says in return he hopes Indonesia and the United States can maintain and develop our good relationship."
Obama's "unique" link with Indonesia would help the two countries improve their ties, Dino said. According to Dino, the meeting also discussed the visit of Clinton to Indonesia next week.
Clinton's arrival must be seen as an opportunity to discuss issues developing at regional and international level, the meeting concluded.
In her maiden overseas trip as Secretary of State, Clinton is scheduled to visit four countries in Asia: Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China, a visit of eight days in total.
The visit to Indonesia is scheduled for Feb. 18-19 after her visit to Japan. From Indonesia Clinton will fly to South Korea and finally China.
Dino said Clinton's choice to visit Indonesia after Japan showed that the new US leadership was paying attention to Indonesia, attributable to Indonesia's increasingly important role in the global economy.
He said the emerging role in the world economy was most evident through Indonesia's inclusion in the G-20 group of countries. "Clinton's distinctive itinerary visiting Indonesia after Japan shows the signals. I think her visit reflects Indonesia's position at the international level; that we are getting established," Dino said.
Dino said Indonesia would take the opportunity to develop its "free-active" diplomacy, while persistently maintaing the country's national interests.
He refused to provide details of the topics that Yudhoyono would discuss with Clinton in their meeting next week. "Cooperation in education and cience and technology fields would surely be discussed," he said.
To follow up to the talks between Vice President Jusuf Kalla and his US counterpart Joe Biden in Washington last week, Yudhoyono would likely discuss issues arising from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with Clinton next week, he added.
Ties between Indonesia and the US have fluctuated. Washington had previously slapped an arms embargo on Jakarta over alleged past human rights violations involving the Indonesian Military.
However, international efforts against terrorism, led by the US, have helped rejuvenate the relationship between the two democracies.