June 12, 2009 

Assistant Secretary of State Nominee Comments on Indonesia during Senate Confirmation Testimony

Bahasa Indonesia

Washington, June 11 – President Obama’s nominee to be the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, Dr. Kurt M. Campbell, mentioned Indonesia and ASEAN in his recent testimony before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

Below are excerpts from Dr. Campbell’s testimony:

“The [Obama] Administration recently concluded three full days of discussions with Indonesian officials to define the contours of a Comprehensive Partnership that the President of Indonesia and Secretary Clinton called for, and Secretary Clinton met on Monday with Foreign Minister Wirajuda to discuss the partnership and other issues. Our relationship with Indonesia has expanded significantly in recent years, coincident with the growth of Indonesian democracy. It is entirely appropriate that the engagement between the world’s second and third largest democracies has grown to embrace new areas of cooperation. The scope of an effective partnership can certainly extend beyond bilateral topics, as we join together to address regional and global issues such as protecting biodiversity, conservation of tropical forests and extensive coral reefs, improving global peace-keeping capabilities, intensified cooperation in science and education, and restoring balance and growth to the global economy.”

As the countries in Southeast Asia integrate under the ASEAN Community, including the goal of creating a single market, we can expect the importance of our economic, political, educational and cultural ties with this dynamic and variegated part of East Asia to continue to grow.  The United States and ASEAN are now beginning our fourth decade as Dialogue Partners and ASEAN has just brought into force its new Charter, which provides a framework for much greater regional cooperation on economic, political, human rights and social issues. While the pace of ASEAN’s evolution is unlikely to be dramatic, if we look at its changes over a period of several years, the picture is clearly one of increasing activity, relevance, and willingness to grapple with new challenges. The United States must match the changes underway in ASEAN and ASEAN member countries with renewed engagement which ensures continuation of a strong partnership.

For more information about the U.S. Embassy’s activities please visit http://jakarta.usembassy.gov/.

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