Indonesia visit is a PR mission
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is continuing the Obama administration's efforts to rehabilitate America's image abroad, especially with Muslims, during a visit to Indonesia that began today.
The country, once the home of President Barack Obama, is the second stop in her inaugural overseas trip as the top U.S. diplomat. The itinerary is intended to symbolize the administration's commitment to Asia.
In Jakarta, Clinton intends to announce plans to step up U.S. engagement with Southeast Asia in particular, stressing the growing importance of a region that often felt slighted by the Bush administration.
Her two-day schedule in Indonesia includes a visit to the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat, the first by a secretary of state, where she is likely to signal U.S. intent to sign the regional bloc's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, officials said.
Clinton also plans to pledge to attend the group's annual regional security conference, they said. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice skipped the ASEAN Regional Forum twice during her four years in office, to the dismay of the region.
In addition, Clinton said she hopes Peace Corps operations will resume in Indonesia following a long absence. Peace Corps volunteers served in the country between 1963 and 1965 before being expelled by the government.
After meeting with Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, Clinton said she was "pleased to announce that the Peace Corps will be negotiating an agreement for a program here in Indonesia."
Development and climate change also will be the agenda during her meetings with Indonesian leaders.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Islamic nation, and it has personal ties for Obama, who spent four years of his childhood here. Among those who turned out at the airport to welcome Clinton were 44 children from his former elementary school.
Indonesia, often held up as a beacon of Islamic democracy and modernity, is a secular nation. Most of its 190 million Muslims practice a moderate form of the faith, but anger ran high over U.S. policy in the Middle East and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan during the Bush years.
