http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/obama-indonesia-visit-now-set-for-mid-march-with-focus-on-partnership-building/356245
February 02, 2010 Camelia Pasandaran US President Barack Obama, along with First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia. (AFP Photo) Obama Indonesia Visit Now Set for Mid-March, With Focus on Partnership-Building Cipanas, West Java. When US President Barack Obama and his family finally make their long-awaited state visit to Indonesia in March, it will be for more than just a look at his childhood home in Menteng and a plate of nasi goreng. Obama and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will formally launch the US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership, an initiative by which the United States will broaden and strengthen relations with Indonesia to tackle regional and global issues. Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said the two leaders would discuss key issues related to the partnership, an idea now "well accepted" in Washington and first raised by Yudhoyono on a visit there in November 2008. "There have been discussions on drafting the content of the comprehensive partnership that will be launched," Dino said. "The significance of the visit is to intensify the Indonesian-American relationship to adapt to the challenges of the 21st century." Dino said the relationship had lacked balance in the past, focusing mainly on Indonesia's record on democracy, human rights and East Timor. "We want this to be a more comprehensive relationship, covering areas such as energy, the environment, health, science and technology, trade, investment, people-to-people contacts and many others," he said. "Trade volume in 2008 was $20 billion. In 2009, it declined due to the economic crisis. Investment has yet to reach its full potential, so there are many aspects of trade that could still be developed." As the largest country in Southeast Asia, the unofficial leader of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and one of the Group of 20 nations, Indonesia can play a role in solving world problems, including climate change and extremism, he said. The precise date of Obama's visit is still unknown for security reasons. The White House said on Monday that he would visit Indonesia and Australia in the second half of March, but Dino said he expected Obama here in the second week of March. Obama, who lived in Jakarta for almost four years as a child, will be accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha. "When first lady Ani Yudhoyono met with Michelle Obama in London, Michelle said she had been longing to visit Indonesia, but they wanted to take along their daughters so their father could show them where he lived," Dino said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
