U.S. accepts Sumadi as new Indonesian envoy

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The United States has accepted the nomination of Indonesia's senior diplomat Sumadi Brotodiningrat to represent Jakarta in Washington D.C., the Minister of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

Sumadi, the incumbent ambassador to Japan, will be officially inducted for his new post by President Megawati Soekarnoputri here soon, and should be able to leave for Washington D.C. before the end of the month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said.

The Washington job has been vacant since August when Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti was recalled home by President Megawati to become the Coordinating Minister for the Economy.

The delays in appointing the new envoy in Washington have prompted criticisms about Jakarta's treatment of one of the nation's most important foreign relationships.

The criticisms were slightly tempered when Megawati decided to go ahead with an official trip to Washington one week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Hassan said on Monday that the President's visit in September put Indonesia-U.S. relations on a positive new footing.

He said the delay in the nomination process was partly caused by a new ruling that requires the House of Representatives to approve all nominations for Indonesian ambassadors.

Sumadi served as director general of foreign economic relations before being appointed as the envoy to Japan in 1996. His previous postings included chief of the Indonesian mission at the United Nations in New York and Geneva.

Hassan added that the plan to restructure and reorganize the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been approved by President Megawati, and would be implemented this month.

The plan calls for the establishment of new directorate generals based on the main regions of Indonesia's foreign policies.

The changes were deemed necessary to make the performance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs more effective, he said.