When U.S. President Barack Obama welcomes Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the White House on Monday, certain similarities between the two leaders will be undeniable. Both are of the same age (54 years old), both were political outsiders whose meteoric rise to power sparked hope and expectations for change. And for both men, this initial optimism faded somewhat after underwhelming starts to their respective first terms.
Jokowi, as the leader of Southeast Asia's most populous country is affectionately called, departed for the U.S. on Saturday, just days after completing his maiden year in office. Trade and investment are high on the agenda. Apart from his meeting at the Oval Office, he is set to meet the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and fund managers in Washington, and later tour Silicon Valley to see Apple CEO Tim Cook and other tech giants' executives. "The main focus of this visit is to increase the bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and America," Jokowi said in Jakarta before leaving for the U.S. "Mainly in investment and trade, and also in digital economy and creative economy."
But the upbeat note aside, a plethora of problems back home are overshadowing his trip. Here are four challenges that Jokowi is facing:
http://time.com/4086496/four-priorities-indonesia-president-joko-widodo-obama/
Jokowi came into office skeptical that all of Yudhoyono's summitry had amounted to much for the Indonesian people. In his first speech to the Indonesian diplomatic corps, he instructed them to focus on 'down to earth diplomacy': marketing Indonesian products abroad, resolving consular problems overseas, and defending Indonesian sovereignty — not on summitry. Jokowi did host leaders of the non-aligned movement for the 60th anniversary of the Asia Africa Conference, but even here we see domestic politics at work: it was Megawati, whose father Sukarno hosted the first Asia Africa Conference, who prevailed upon Jokowi to host the summit.
Jokowi's most prominent policies, however, are classically non-aligned; he seems to believe that Indonesia is too often disadvantaged, in terms of economics or dignity, in its engagements with the world around it. For example, he has sought to attract more favorable terms for foreign investment to fund his infrastructure projects, and to end the practice of Indonesians traveling overseas to serve as domestic workers, an occupation he finds degrading. His most popular policy, by far, is a campaign against illegal foreign fishing in Indonesian waters, which has featured the fiery destruction of foreign vessels caught fishing without permission.
Indonesia's retreat into down-to-earth diplomacy and the cynicism of non-alignment is unfortunate, for Indonesian diplomatic leadership has much to offer the region. Though it often frustrates those Americans and others in Southeast Asia who would prefer that Indonesia take a much harder tack against China, Indonesia's independent foreign policy allows it to play the role of an honest broker in regional disputes; but only if it is allowed to be energetic and fully engaged.
http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2015/10/26/Obama-Should-Encourage-Jokowi-to-Lead-in-Asia.aspx
Nice words will be said, broad pledges made, and tomorrow's headlines will dominate.
But those smiles cannot conceal that US-Indonesian relations, while better than under the Bush administration, remain second-rate and disappointingly lukewarm given the level of promise and expectation Indonesia had of a president who spent time as a child in this country. Obama's memories of eating bakso (meatballs) in Menteng, Central Jakarta, do not disguise the fact that, by and large, Indonesia remains off Washington's geostrategic map. Indonesia's moniker "the world's third-largest democracy" has not attracted the kind of attention it deserves from a superpower that contends to place democracy and human rights so high on its foreign policy agenda.
The Comprehensive Partnership signed five years ago and more recently the US strategic rebalancing toward Asia have proven to be false narratives in elevating ties.
The US remains one of Indonesia's top trading partners, but according to data from the Ministry of Trade, bilateral trade in 2014 stood at US$24.7 billion, compared to $23.6 billion in 2010.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in Washington last month: "This is the best time for Indonesia and the US to sit together and discuss the future relations between the two countries".
But, arguably, it may not be.
Indonesian Ambassador to the US, Budi Bowoleksono, said on Sunday, October 25, that 1,250 seats prepared for Indonesian citizens and diaspora were fully booked in just three hours.
"We initially prepared 500 seats. But in order to be fair, we opened an online registration. It was entirely booked in one hour," Ambassador Budi said Sunday.
The embassy then added another 750 seats through online registration and was completely booked in two hours. "Unbelievable, 1,250 people attended the event, perhaps more," said Budi.
http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2015/10/26/055713008/Indonesians-in-the-US-Flock-to-Meet-Jokowi
"I decided to cancel my trip to the West Coast and may be directly flown into Kalteng or Sumsel," said Mr Joko, referring to the two provinces by their local names, after a telephone conversation with Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Luhut Pandjaitan on Monday (Oct 26) US time.
A member of the presidential communications team told The Straits Times that Mr Joko had made the decison after receiving updates on ground conditions in the regions that have been badly hit by the toxic haze from forest fires.
The government is preparing for a massive operation, both on land and at sea, for what appears to be an imminent evacuation of thousands of babies and children from their homes in parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan.
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