Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today met Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa at Bali, Indonesia. Both countries discussed their shared goal of expanding educational exchanges.
Ms. Clinton expressed her appreciation to the Foreign Minister and the delegation from Indonesia for not only welcoming her, but also preparing the opportunity for such a productive second meeting of their joint commission.
“We are well on the way to doubling the number of Indonesians who study in the United States, and increasing the number of American students who come to study in Indonesia.” -Ms. Clinton
She added that both United States and Indonesia have expanded study abroad initiatives, such as the Fulbright Program. She stressed that the U.S. government is are eager to continue to build on that goal. She pointed out that both countries will convene again at a higher education summit to be held in Washington on October 31st.
Ms. Clinton said they have also discussed how to increase trade and investment between their countries. She highlighted that Indonesia is the largest economy in ASEAN, trade between their two countries still lags between others in the region.
“For example, our trade this year with Indonesia was $20 billion, but our trade with Malaysia was $40 billion. So we want to look at what are the impediments and the potential barriers. How do we reduce tariffs? How do we create more dynamic trade and investment between Indonesia and the United States?”- Ms. Clinton
Ms. Clinton also stated that both countries have discussed how we they can work together more closely to protect the environment and to address the challenge of climate change.
She highlighted that both countries also discussed Indonesia’s growing role as a regional and global leader, and the important leadership that Indonesia is providing in ASEAN, in the ASEAN Regional Forum, in the East Asia Summit, in APEC, in the G-20, in all the major multilateral fora where the hard problems facing the world today are addressed.
“This is an exciting time, and I was very impressed by the work that has been done by the working groups. And I think that this comprehensive partnership is, indeed, producing results for both of our people. Because, after all, we have to report to the people of Indonesia, and the people of the United States.” -Ms. Clinton