SBY's summit diplomacy

For much of this week and next, foreign affairs will take up most of the attention of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. This weekend, our President will head to Santiago, Chile, for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit with at least 20 other leaders. And the following weekend, he will be in Vientiane, Laos, for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, involving all 10 members of the group plus East Asian economic giants China, Japan and South Korea.

We may recall that in the week before he took up the presidency, Susilo said he would devote his time and energy in his first 100 days on pressing domestic problems. Unlike his two predecessors who wasted no time in making foreign visits soon after their appointments, Susilo said he would not be making such trips until the first 100-day period is over. He has already ruled out making the customary tour of ASEAN capitals expected of new leaders of member countries, or any working visits to other countries for that matter, until then.

There are of course exceptions to this rule of "no foreign trip" promise.

As leader of the country with the largest Muslim population, he had to represent Indonesia at the funeral of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Cairo last week, which marked Susilo's first trip overseas since he took office on Oct. 20. And the summits in Santiago and Vientiane, and the chance to meet with other leaders there, are simply opportunities too precious for Indonesia's newly elected president to pass up.

Will his preoccupation with international affairs for the next seven days or so come at the expense of his domestic agenda? Is foreign policy, or foreign affairs, really that important that he has to take time off from home on two consecutive weekends?

His two predecessors, Megawati Soekarnoputri and Abdurrahman Wahid, were criticized for producing very little out of their foreign sojourns that they came to be seen as extravagant and a huge drain on state money during the economic crisis. No doubt President Susilo, who will spend the next two weekends abroad, will face such questions too, all the more so given his promise to devote his time to domestic issues in his first 100 days.

There are many good reasons why President Susilo should attend these two summits. He, or his aides, needs to explain to the public that he can get a lot of mileage out of the summits in Indonesia's national interests -- yes, for domestic issues too -- if he plays his cards right at these two events. One thing that past administrations have consistently failed to do is explain the relevance of foreign affairs -- including the attendance of our leaders at summits and conferences -- to the larger national interest.

The APEC summit, for example, will discuss the promotion of free trade in this huge region, explore ways to restart trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization, and enhance trade security in this era of global terror. The ASEAN summit will push further the idea of establishing an ASEAN community by 2020. These are issues important to the nation's present and future existence, and Indonesia needs to be involved in all these processes, whatever conditions prevail at home.

The presence of leaders at these forums are important to make the connection with national interests, for, as Jan Melissen wrote in Summit Diplomacy Coming of Age "(the leaders) are people readers rather than paper readers, and therefore place more faith in their own direct personal impressions than in traditional, written forms of diplomatic communications".

The two summits are also rare occasions for President Susilo to meet with some of the leaders individually to discuss issues that are more bilateral in nature. Making his debut on the global stage, it is also important that he establish personal rapport with some of them. Undoubtedly, one of the most important meetings that he will have in Santiago, assuming one is planned, is the one with George W. Bush, who just won the U.S. presidential election to serve for four more years.

For President Susilo, this will also be an opportunity to establish his credentials among his foreign peers as the new leader of the world's third largest democracy which also has the world's largest Muslim population.

Following the general and presidential elections this year, Indonesia should now be able to speak with greater authority when addressing issues like democracy and religious tolerance. This is in keeping with the constitutional mandate that Indonesia plays an active and independent role in promoting global peace and prosperity. Indonesia's sheer population size dictates that we should be more active in determining the course of global development.

Finally, Susilo's attendance at these two summits will be an opportunity to familiarize himself with the strong-but-sometimes- not-obvious links between global affairs and Indonesia's national interests, and thus ultimately his own domestic agenda.

Beyond the feel-good diplomacy and photo-ops that these summits have come to be characterized by the media in general, there are many tangible as well as intangible benefits to be gained by the President himself, and by the nation.