Indonesia's new ambassador to U.S. vows to boost trade ties

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Ever since the election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as Indonesia's first-ever directly elected president last year, the perception of the U.S. government toward Indonesia has been changing.

Last year's tsunami disaster generated unprecedented sympathy among the U.S. public towards Indonesian people.

Indonesia's strong determination to wage war against terrorism has also won appreciation from both the U.S. government and the media.

On top of all these developments, last week Washington lifted its 14-year-old arms embargo on Indonesia -- which was imposed due to human rights violations in East Timor -- and restored its military ties with the Indonesian armed forces.

President Susilo wants these positive developments in relations between the U.S. and Indonesia to be not only sustained, but further strengthened. Which is why he picked Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat, one of the country's top diplomats, as his representative in Washington.

By any standard, Sudjadnan -- an experienced and adept diplomat -- is the right man for this prestigious position.

Sudjadnan, who has a degree in international relations, said that Indonesia's transition to democracy, its terrorism concerns and the factor of a rising China, will play crucial role in determining the contours of the newly emerging relationship between Indonesia and the U.S.

Furthermore, an improved human rights record and trade relations could be prime contributors towards solidifying the relationship, the diplomat, who was born in Yogyakarta, said.

However, many in the U.S. remain skeptical about Indonesia's present efforts to emerge as a democratic country.

"As a new ambassador (to the United States), I will closely follow the changes in Americans' perceptions on these issues. These changes will be used as input to improving our relations with the United States," he told The Jakarta Post in an interview recently.

Sudjadnan, a career diplomat who is currently secretary- general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will replace Soemadi DM Brotodiningrat as the Indonesian ambassador to the U.S..

For Sudjadnan, neither the ambassadorial job nor the U.S. are new.

He was appointed as Indonesia's ambassador to Australia in 2001 with the task of improving relations with that country after East Timor's separation from Indonesia in 1999. Australia played a key role in East Timor at that time.

He also served two years (1996-1998) as ministerial counselor at Indonesia's permanent mission at the United Nations in New York.

Commenting on his new position, Sudjadnan said that it was a big job, but not a difficult one.

"This is a big job. But for me, there is no term like a 'tough' mission. I never value the mission from the size of the country," Sudjadnan said, while adding his main task would be how to boost trade ties between the countries.

Nonetheless, throughout his career, Sudjadnan has been assigned to deal with tough problems, be it East Timor or the organization of an international summit on nuclear proliferation treaty talks.

After his graduation from the faculty of social and political sciences of the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta in 1978, Sudjadnan joined a Japanese company, Itohcu, as an assistant manager.

Sudjadnan, now a father of three, joined the foreign ministry in 1981 and his first posting was in Geneva.

His managerial experience and diplomatic skills made him one of the country's top negotiators in various multilateral meetings, and won him several key jobs in a short span of time.

Despite the tsunami tragedy, Indonesia successfully organized the Asian-African Summit (AAS), in which over 100 countries took part, in Jakarta in April. Sudjadnan was one of the few people who worked hard to make the AAS a success, as was the secretary- general of the organizing committee.

Sudjadnan, who speaks fluent Indonesian, Javanese, English and French, became the vice chairman of the first committee of the United Nations General Assembly.

From 1984 to 1998, he spent most of his time working at the United Nations -- either in Vienna, Geneva or New York.

He was the secretary of the Indonesian Task Force for the Implementation of the Popular Consultation in East Timor (now Timor Leste) in 1999, and served as head of the Indonesian delegation during the talks with UNTAET (United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor).

While working at the United Nations, Sudjadnan developed a special interest in disarmament and nuclear proliferation.

Sudjadnan was the first Indonesian diplomat to chair Prepcom for the 2005 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in 2004, and later became the chairman of the main committee I of the 2005 NPT Review Conference in New York.

The 53-year-old diplomat said that the U.S. perception against Indonesia on the issue of terrorism had gradually changed following a series of deadly bombings that killed several innocent people during the last three years.

With regard to the China factor, Sudjadnan said that the United States would take action to balance China's influence in Southeast Asia.

"The United States has established a strategic partnership with India recently. In Southeast Asia, Washington sees Indonesia as a very important country," he said.

While commenting on the U.S. concerns over the Indonesia's human rights record, Sudjadnan emphasized that the presence of non-governmental organizations and the stronger role of House of Representatives in putting checks and balances on the government are helping to improve the human rights situation.

Asked about his targets in the U.S., Sudjadnan said that the short-term target would be to boost direct investment and trade and increase the total number of Americans visiting Indonesia.

While in the long term, we will maintain harmonious relations between the two countries, he said.

He added that in order to improve Indonesia's image in the U.S., his embassy would also make efforts to get more support for Indonesia both in the U.S. Congress and Senate.

"The Caucus on Indonesia (friends of Indonesia) consists of 23 members. It is very effective. They visit Indonesia and then convey their views on the real conditions in Indonesia, including the human rights situation and the democratic process, to their friends in the U.S. Congress," he said.