Jakarta – Fighting terrorism and military cooperation are set to top the agenda in talks between visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Rice, who arrived for her first visit to the world's most populous Muslim nation earlier in the day, kicked off her trip by praising Indonesia as "a real success story" notable for its religious tolerance and democratic progress.
During talks with reformer Yudhoyono, she is also expected to raise regional efforts to tackle bird flu, which has killed at least 22 Indonesians so far, and seek Jakarta's help in breaking the political impasse in the Middle East.
Before lunching with her counterpart Hassan Wirayuda, Rice visited the Al Makmur Islamic School in central Jakarta, where amid tight security she took questions from the young students.
Ten-year-old veiled Angina asked the Secretary of State how as a woman she had become a minister. "I studied very hard. Maybe one day you can do this, and then you could become a minister later," Rice told the girl.
Posing beside a man dressed as the red monster Elmo from Sesame Street, Rice announced the US would grant Indonesia an additional 8.5 million dollars to create an Indonesian version of the famous American children's programme. The school is part of a five-year 157 million US aid deal which funds educational programmes in Indonesia's Muslim schools.
Talking to reporters shortly before her arrival, Rice praised Indonesia's efforts at clamping down on Islamic militants, who have staged a string of deadly bomb attacks in Jakarta and on the resort island of Bali.
The country has been actively pursuing members of the Jemaah Islamiyah group, which has some links to the Al-Qaeda network.
Rice hailed the "transnational cooperation that we have on everything from counter-terrorism, where the Indonesians are making a real effort to rid the region – not just themselves but in cooperation in the region – of the terrorist threat that has plagued Southeast Asia." "Indonesia is increasingly a real success story of a place," she said.
"The people of Indonesia seem to be coming together around religious tolerance, ethnic diversity and democracy. And so it's a place that is making real strides forward." Indonesia's emergence in 1998 from 32 years of autocratic rule had promoted warmer ties between the two countries, allowing the lifting of a military embargo and increasing security cooperation, Rice said.
"If you look at where Indonesia was just a few years ago and the ability now to carry out repeated presidential elections democratically... this is a state that has really made giant strides over the last several years. "I think that this relationship with Indonesia stands right at the heart of our strong efforts at cooperation throughout Southeast Asia," she said.
Indonesia is becoming strategically more important to the United States as China's influence in the region grows, analysts say.
The two countries last November resumed full military ties that were largely severed in 1991 when Indonesian forces launched a bloody crackdown on pro-independence protesters in East Timor.
Relations notably improved after the United States launched a massive effort to help survivors of the 2004 tsunami, which killed 168,000 Indonesians. But Yudhoyono has had a tough task balancing close ties with strong anti-American sentiment among some political factions.
Around 400 protestors from several Muslim groups held a peaceful demonstration outside the US embassy criticising the US's involvement in Iraq. Rice has said she would also discuss the surprise election victory of Palestinian militant group Hamas in January elections when she meets her counterpart Wirayuda later.
The top US diplomat heads to Australia Wednesday for talks with her Australian and Japanese counterparts. The focus there is expected to be Iran, Iraq and Northeast Asian security.