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

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.