U.S. Senate member meets Hamzah

JAKARTA: Vice President Hamzah Haz met on Wednesday with Jonah Blank, a member of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who has been assigned to gather information on the latest situation in Indonesia.

Blank paid a courtesy call on Hamzah following trips to various areas across the archipelago over the past few weeks.

"Indonesia and the U.S are close friends, and I'm here to seek ways to put the friendship on a firmer basis.

"My responsibility is to provide advice to the chairman (of the foreign relation committee) of what we could do as friends to Indonesia and how to strengthen the relationship on a wide range of issues" he told reporters without disclosing further details.

In his meeting with Hamzah, Blank was accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L. Boyce.--JP