 I'm hoping that the accident on K Street doesn't prevent more guests from coming in. I know that people may trickle in a little bit at a time, but because of the minister's time we're going to start relatively on time and hope we can go from there. Mr. Minister, your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us today for the CSIS Banyan Tree Leadership Forum. My name is Charles Freeman. I'm pinch-hitting for Ernie Bauer, who runs our Southeast Asia program and unfortunately couldn't be here today because he's in Jakarta, of all places. Hopefully working to implement some of the goals that for strengthening bilateral ties between the United States and Indonesia that I trust the minister will address in some part today. I'd also like to welcome the Ambassador from Indonesia, the honorable Dino Jalal, this morning. He's recently arrived here in Washington and I know he's going to be working very hard on what is increasingly an enormously important relationship between the United States and Indonesia. I'd also like to thank the other ambassadors who are here today for joining us and thanks very much to Chevron and Dina Sedney for their support in making today's work possible. CSIS is deeply honored that Indonesia's Minister for Foreign Affairs is addressing the Banyan Tree Leadership Forum today. Minister Martin Nadalagawa is recognized as one of the most important young leaders of his country. In many ways, he's been the voice for Indonesia. President Yudhoyono selected him as Foreign Minister last October, but before then he was Indonesia's permanent representative to the United Nations, ambassador to the United Kingdom and chief staff and spokesman to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His rise to the ranks of the ministry has been meteoric to say the least and he has earned the trust and respect of his colleagues in Indonesia, ASEAN, Asia and globally. Minister's leadership has been well recognized as Indonesia is taking its rightful place on the world stage after its historic transition from autocracy to democracy over the last two decades. Indonesia is the incoming chair of ASEAN, a key member of APEC and the East Asia Summit and has recently been named member of the G20, which is entirely appropriate. Minister, I know you'll be logging many miles to keep up all of the summitry that this entails and I know you're here in the United States in part to attend the second U.S. ASEAN Summit which will be hosted by President Obama in New York next week. Given the exciting developments in Indonesia and regionally, we're all looking forward to the minister's presentation. It's my honor to introduce Minister Mardi Nadalakawa this morning. Thank you. Mr. Charles Freeman, I'd like to thank you very much for that most kind introduction and especially I would like to thank all those who have made possible today's event giving me a forum to share some thoughts about Indonesia's perspective on its place in the world and especially its relations with the United States. I wish also like yourself, Mr. Freeman, I want to acknowledge the presence of my dear friend and colleague Ambassador Dino Jalal, who has just yesterday presented his credential. I can speak with the greatest of conviction and confidence that he is a person who will do tremendously well in promoting Indonesia-U.S. relations and Indonesia is truly fortunate to have a representative of his caliber here in Washington and welcome to Washington, Ambassador Dino. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I'm very grateful that you find it worthwhile to be here with us this morning to hopefully absorb some of our thoughts, Indonesia's thoughts on various international issues as well as our thoughts on bilateral relations between Indonesia and the United States. I'm especially pleased to offer a modest contribution to a forum which is premised on recognition of the importance of building dialogue on a broad range of issues between Southeast Asia and the United States. I have come to Washington in pursuit of such a dialogue. I'm sure that the more we know of one another and of one another's position on crucial issues, the smoother and the more fruitful is our cooperation and the more robust is our friendship. Let me begin by sharing with this August forum and Indonesian perspective of the most pervasive and striking realities of our contemporary time. Nations today must face the fact that we live in a globalized and networked world and that this world is in a grip of formidable challenges. Challenges that defy national solutions as they are transnational and global in nature. Challenges that are remarkably complex since they are intertwined in nature. As a result, the remedies that they demand are at once national, regional, as well as global. As well, solutions that are focused and specific on the one hand, yet comprehensive and broad on the other. Not least in a network age, policymakers no longer has the luxury of positive of time, a buffer between the occurrence of an event and a policy response. Challenges and crisis demand real time responses. Indeed, in contemporary world, it seems almost as if crisis and challenges are the norm and a constant and that normalcy is in fact the exception. Crisis that you are all too familiar with, the economic downturn from which we all have barely recovered, the financial crisis that is still raging in some developed economies, the persistent food security and energy security crisis, the challenge of climate change and a host of non-traditional threats to security that includes irregular migration, pandemics, international terrorism and religious intolerance. Of course, concurrently, the more traditional and perennial threats to international peace and security remain. A world in deep crisis is a dangerous world. It imperils the weak and the poor as well as the mighty and the rich. However, Excellencies, friends, I wish not to labor on threats and challenges alone, for I do earnestly believe that at the same time these very challenges also offer opportunities. Above all, they provide incentives for a fresh perspective. The imperative for change in the manner nations conduct themselves, certainly at the national level and indeed at the global level as well. A premium for a problem-solving outlook of building bridges among divides and of partnership. The United States and Indonesia have been addressing this need for change, each in its own way and according to its unique situation and capabilities. It stands to reason that both will get better results and contribute more to the welfare of humankind if we work together. Our two countries have a long friendship that dates back to the time when, in the wake of the Second World War, the United States supported Indonesia's successful struggle for independence. Today, the United States and Indonesia are respectively the second and the third largest democracies in the world, which means that we are both totally committed to the same values and ideals, including those enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Thus, I do sincerely believe that the prospects for our bilateral relations are the best they have ever been today. It was in recognition of this fact that in November 2008, my President, His Excellency Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, speaking before the United States Indonesia Society or Yusindo here in Washington, D.C. proposed the idea of forging a comprehensive partnership between our two countries. This idea received warm reception and positive response on the part of President Barack Obama and was also followed up when Secretary Clinton visited Indonesia in February of 2009 when she proclaimed officially as well support for such comprehensive partnership. Since then, on various occasions, Secretary Clinton and I have met to further develop the idea. Indeed, a few hours from now I will be meeting her again in the first joint commission meeting between our two governments, and we will announce the partnership's plan of action after the meeting. But this much I can inform or tell you at this time. This partnership is based on key principles of mutual respect, common interests, and shared benefits, and of course not least of equal partnership, and is also always forward-looking in nature. It is a comprehensive partnership that covers a wide range of fields that are crucial to Indonesia's development. They include education, health, science and technology, food and energy security, national security, trade and investment, and sustainability of the environment. It has a strong sociocultural component, meaning people-to-people context. It is a people-centered relationship involving the kind of soft power that the world would like America to exercise more robustly. Thus, it addresses the fact that the number of Indonesians studying in the United States has declined from 14,000 a decade ago to around 7,000 today. Cooperation between our respective universities should help reverse this unfortunate trend. The partnership will be enriched by the participation of a broad base of stakeholders, including legislators on both sides, our business sectors, our civil societies, academicians, mass media practitioners, community leaders, and local officials. Dear friends and colleagues, if I had stood before you like this some 12 years ago, I should not be talking of a comprehensive partnership with the United States. At the time, authoritarian Indonesia has a gaping democratic deficit. In the midst of the Asian financial crisis, we suffered a negative GDP growth of some 13.5 percent, and also we were undergoing some difficult social turmoil. But today, we have a new Indonesia. We have launched and sustained an era of reformacy. Some a quarter of a billion people today enjoy rights and liberties they were once deprived of. We have demonstrated our resilience as a nation, tested by man-made as well as natural disasters. Having made our democratic transition, we are conscious of the significance of being recognized as the world's third largest democracy, a living proof that democracy, Islam, and modernization can flourish together. Our democracy is delivering socioeconomic dividends to our people. Thus, when the global financial crisis struck in 2008, sending the world economy on a tailspin, the Indonesian economy actually grew by 6 percent that same year and by 4.5 percent in 2009. It is expected to grow by 5.5 percent this year, and by 6.4 percent next year, the third highest growth rate among G20 countries after China and India. Our known oil exports were valued at $100 billion last year. Our foreign exchange reserves have reached an unprecedented high of $78 billion, while our debt to GDP ratio went down to an unprecedented low of 2.7.8 percent. Our poverty rate continues to decline, our credit rating keeps rising, agriculture being the backbone of our economy, our food security continues to strengthen. These Excellencies friends are the fruits of reform, the dividends of our democratic transformation. Because our people are now enjoying this dividends, our democracy is robust and made more durable. Our national unity is strengthened. As a nation, we are more socially and politically cohesive than ever before. Thus, we were able to settle the separatist rebellion in Aceh, for example, through peaceful negotiations. We have transparency in government. The democratic checks and balances of power are always at work. Our justice system has scored many notable victories against the vice of corruption. However, we are not complacent. We have to continue to invest in and nurture our democratic institutions. Not least, we are striving to ensure that there is no disconnect between our democratization and the regional environment that we find ourselves in. It is certainly not a coincidence that Indonesia's democratic transformation over the past decade has been paralleled by change within the association of Southeast Asian nations, or ASEAN. In 2003, in the midst of its internal reform, Indonesia, as chair of ASEAN, purposefully initiated the concept of an ASEAN community resting on the three pillars of political security, economic, and socio-cultural cooperation. Since then, ASEAN has adopted a charter by virtue of which the member states committed themselves to adhere to democratic values and to the promotion and protection of human rights. This is clearly still work in progress. However, the trajectory towards greater democracy, not less, enhanced respect for human rights, not less, is crystal clear. Thus, in the same way that we have a democratic Indonesia, we have an ASEAN that is transforming itself by its commitment to democratic values. Friends, as Indonesia consolidates within and contributes to ASEAN community building, it is also promoting its worldview on the so-called regional architecture building. I'd like to make a few observations with your kind permissions. Geopolitical shift to the Asia-Pacific region has been quite pronounced and likely to continue as well. In the Asia-Pacific, I've found some of the most intriguing relationships among states of consequence whose nature will help define the type of environment we find ourselves in, whether it be benign or whether it be a threatening one. Indonesia believes that the Asia-Pacific region need not slip into a cold war type environment of mutual suspicion and hostility. In this, ASEAN's role will continue to be invaluable. Over the past decades, ASEAN has helped shape the wider region's strategic environment by laying norms and principles for the peaceful conduct of states in the region and by a network of cooperation among countries in the Asia-Pacific, either to absent. Today, ASEAN continues to strive to earn such central role by tackling head-on the issue of regional architecture building. The forthcoming expansion of the East Asia Summit by including the United States and the Russian Federation is one such response. For Indonesia, it is consistent with our desire to see a dynamic equilibrium in our region, a state of affairs marked by an absence of a preponderant power, of inclusion rather than of exclusion, of states working in concert, in community, sharing a common interest in addressing shared challenges, where diplomacy and dialogue are the preferred means of conflict resolution rather than the use or threat of use of force. Indonesia looks forward to working closely with the United States within the framework of the envisaged comprehensive partnership to help bring about such a regional architecture. Excellencies friends, beyond the Asia-Pacific region, we look forward to collaborating with the United States in the reform of the United Nations that better reflects the realities of the current contemporary world. Within the framework of the G20, we will strive alongside the United States to reform the international financial architecture and give developing world a bigger say in global economic decision-making. Together, we can help ensure that financial flows for development are not disrupted by a financial crisis and thus promote the attainment of the millennium development goals. We can pursue a common advocacy for nuclear disarmament that will eventually lead to a world of zero nuclear weapons and a common advocacy to save our tropical forests, our oceans, and coral reefs to mitigate and control the ravages of global warming. We also invite the United States to support our efforts at promoting democratic values through such endeavors as the Bali Democracy Forum, the only intergovernmental forum in Asia that serves as a platform for exchange of experiences and best practices in political development. We are ready to work with the United States in fostering peace and mutual understanding wherever there is a conflict or tension. Whether the problem is the Israeli Palestinian conflict or the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, we will always strive to be part of the solution. And, not least, we invite the United States to join us in our ongoing efforts to promote interfaith dialogue among civilizations as a way of building a bridge of mutual understanding and cooperation between the Western and the Muslim world. Excellencies, friends, there is so much that we can do with the comprehensive partnership, and every achievement of this partnership will send a strong message to the rest of the world that two nations, no matter how vastly different they are in their stage of development, can work together not only for their mutual benefit but also for the good of their region and for the welfare of humankind. That strong message becomes all the more meaningful in the light of the fact that both of us, the United States and Indonesia, are vibrant democracies. The success of that comprehensive partnership will tell a great deal not just about the United States and Indonesia, not just about the West and about Islam, but also about democracy and how it can be made fruitful for all humankind. Thank you very much indeed. I'm going to be able to answer a few questions architecture would look like. What's the appropriate role for the United States in that architecture, and are we fulfilling that role? Well, I know that recently there's been a lot of discussion about the manner of United States engagement in our region, in Southeast Asia certainly, in the broader East Asia region as a whole. I'm one of those people who believe that there is really nothing broken to be fixed. I know that the sums are quite engaged and quite anxious to ensure the continued engagement, so-called continued engagement of United States in our region. But we believe, I believe that the United States engagement in our region has been a fact of life. It has been very much engaged in the region, but now with the fluidity in our region, with the increasing prominence of certain other countries in the region, of course we need to factor that into account, and how to ensure that the United States continued engagement in the region is done in a way that is mutually reinforcing and mutually beneficial. And as I said, I try to allude just now not to create a self-fulfilling and unnecessary assumption that there must be some kind of a competitive dynamics to the engagement. And I think so far we have witnessed this has been doable. We have been witnessing, for example, the over the past year, a tremendous acceleration in United States engagement in our region. For example, the accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation by the United States, I do recall that that has been a process that has been going on for some time. But the new U.S. administration, the administration of President Obama added a new momentum to that effort. And of course, beyond that, we've had the ASEAN-US Leader Summit last year in Singapore, and we have to have one next week in New York. And now we have the prospect of United States engagement in the East Asia Summit process as well. So I think all in all, we have a very good, well-calibrated U.S. engagement in the region, in its most multidimensional form. And I wanted to emphasize that aspect as well, the multidimensional nature of U.S. engagement. Because I must confess that in the recent past, and not until recently, one tend to be more familiar with U.S. security perspective and engagement in the region. When in fact, for most countries in the region, the priority concern has been how to pursue the pursuit of development and economic welfare. And I do believe that that's where the U.S. strengths actually lies in terms of its economic possibilities that it can offer. And I made reference also in my remarks about the soft power that the U.S. can employ in our region. So, but all in all, as I said, nothing is broken that needs fixing, but we can do with more nurturing, we can do with more investing in our relationship. And Indonesia is pleased with the fact that this comprehensive partnership that we are building with United States is important not only bilaterally, but it is also having a dividend in the region as a whole. Because we have been able to facilitate one another's mutual interest and partnership in the bigger picture of the region. Thank you. Turn it over to questions. If you can, we've got some microphones that will come to you. If you can identify yourself and your affiliation and then ask a question. Right here. Thank you, Mr. Minister. I'm a reporter with Phoenix TV. My name is Qing Yi Chang. And I'd like following Mr. Freeman's question, some analysis that say that right now U.S. actually is trying to balance in the power with China with A Shan. How do you think about that? Thank you. This is what I have made so to make reference to when I say that in our view it is not inevitable that somehow our region will be trapped in a like a competitive cold war type of environment where the gain of one must be at the expense of the other. I think the rise of China, the increasing prominence of China is a fact of life. It is something that we must all embrace and celebrate as a matter of fact because Indonesia is benefiting as well with China's increasing economic prominence in all areas. And we do believe that it is possible to develop a more win-win mutually reinforcing kind of engagement. We use the term dynamic equilibrium to describe the state of affairs that we envisage where basically it is marked by an absence of a propellant and power as I said before, but not by way of containment, not by way of the classic development of balance of power to ensure the rise of one is neutralized by a group of countries coming together. But really by emphasizing the fact that our engagement in the region is a multifaceted one, there is not one scorecard, only the military political scorecard, but we have the environmental issues, the economic issues, social cultural issues, and they all have their own dynamics. And we feel that actually we can have this more a win-win mutually reinforcing equilibrium. Equilibrium does not connote necessarily a perfect balance, but a state of affairs where there's some predictability in relationship. And here I think the role of ASEAN will be key. We may not be the most powerful group of countries, but so far we have been the one that's probably most acceptable to the major players in our region. But recently I know that this discussion has been somewhat oversimplified with reference to certain situation in our region. Someone would have mentioned the South China Sea, for example, et cetera, or the broader maritime issues, because we've had a number of tensions recently in our region to do with maritime affairs. I'm afraid, including my own country with some of our neighbors, but there is a fact of life. We need to manage these kind of issues in a good way. Good morning. Alex Feldman from the U.S. ASEAN Business Council. Good to see you again, Mr. Minister. One of the pillars that you mentioned is economics and trade, and you mentioned that should be one of the areas that we focus on and can help the Indonesian people with American business opportunities. I guess my question for you is to give us a little preview of what your thinking is coming in to your discussions today about how to expand that. Given the size of our two countries and given the importance of Indonesia, the trade relationship, the investment relationship could be much stronger. And one of the things that we've talked to Pakita about is other countries in the region have given incentives for investment and for increasing the trade relationships, and Indonesia has been reticent to do that for various reasons, but I wonder if that's going to change. I think you describe it as I would describe it as well. There's plenty more room for us to be even better in our trade and investment relations. Precisely the kind of mechanism that we are launching today, the joint ministerial commission and the various working groups that we have established, the very intensified process of dialogue and talks over the past year, for example, I think has really put the issue really to the fore. How can the United States business people really enhance their collaboration and partnership with Indonesia in the trade and investment areas? We are mindful that quite a few of a lot can be done on our part in terms of creating the requisite conducive climate for investment and trade promotion. But on the other hand, I hope also likewise our partners and friends in the United States can also become more alert to the potential that Indonesia offers beyond the traditional sectors, energy and all that. And especially I think increasingly though what is being recognized just now is that when we look at our region in Asia Pacific, it's best not to put all our eggs in one basket in terms of doing your India and your China. Because Indonesia, India and China, we are all integrating as economists. So we can do in India, we can do China by also having engagement with Indonesia. And this is what is most wonderful about our situation in the region at the moment with the various integration efforts, ASEAN among itself, ASEAN plus one with India, with China, with Japan, with Korea. It makes it possible and more efficient for business people to be able to have a foothold in one of the countries, hopefully Indonesia, and you can do the region as well. And by the way, while I'm on the subject matter, I also want to emphasize how we are trying to make Jakarta increasingly the diplomatic capital for our region. Because as you are aware, of course the ASEAN secretariat is very much located in Indonesia, in Jakarta, and all the paraphernalia that comes with the secretariat in terms of the various satellite organizations. And so we are very keen to have Indonesia or Jakarta, especially like a one-stop for our friends to do business in the region. The woman just there. I'm Daisy Leo from Karnacal Phillips. Thank you for your remarks this morning. I was wondering whether you can share with us some insights on what will be the topics that will be discussed next week on the second U.S.-ASEAN dialogue. Thank you. As is natural, as is normal in an event of this type, normally we have two main cluster of issues. One is a review of ASEAN-US relations, where we are in terms of the dialogue partnership between the United States and ASEAN. And of course there will be also the second cluster, namely review of international, global and regional issues. I think the first cluster, the review of U.S.-ASEAN relations, I think all of us can be quite satisfied with where we are compared to where we were, for example last year. TAC, East Asia Summit now, United States, about to be invited into the U.S. as well. And the fact that we are having the leaders meeting is this reaffirmation of the continued significance or importance that United States is attaching to ASEAN. So I think the review should be quite almost celebratory in nature, I think, in terms of congratulating ourselves that things are moving well, but we must do better. The second cluster, the review of international and regional issues, I think when we are looking at the regional calendar or regional situation in East Asia and Southeast Asia, it will not surprise me. It will not surprise me if issues such as the elections that are to be held in some of the, at least one of our member states of ASEAN upcoming election, I think in Myanmar, may come up. It's not formally in the agenda, but it would not be surprising if United States choose to raise a subject matter. And I think our friends from Myanmar has always been forthcoming and ready to engage in this kind of discussion. Of course, the situation on the Korean peninsula while not quite Southeast Asia, obviously, but ASEAN member states have a valid concern about where we are on that issue, especially the fact that the ASEAN Regional Forum as the premier security forum for our region is probably the only forum where all the six party talks countries are sitting together. And so the Korean Peninsula development will be key. The elections in some of our neighboring countries will be important as well. We will be also keen to hear from the United States about their efforts on the Middle East, for example. This is obviously beyond the region type of concern, but as Indonesia, we have been very much appreciative of the singular effort, the strong effort the United States Administration is putting into the Middle East peace process just now, relatively early on in its administration's tenure, quite a contrast to the past. And I will be keen also later on today to hear from Secretary Clinton on where we are and how a country like Indonesia can make its own modest contribution to ensure progress in these kind of efforts. Right, just here. Got the microphone. There we go. Thank you. I'm Jim from the Straits Times. Mr. Minister, there's a lot of talk these days that America is becoming Islamophobic. And of course, in recent weeks, we've seen the tension that's been created by the events in Florida and New York. So I was wondering, do you think that this is going to make it tougher for the U.S. to build closer ties with Indonesia? And is this sort of simmering tension between non-Muslims and Muslims in America a factor behind why President Yudhuyono is still unconfirmed for next week's event? Thank you. Well, I guess the key understanding we must try to build there is what we mean by America. Because in any democratic society, including in Indonesia, there are always, you're bound to find people who are less tolerant than we would like them to be, more phobic about certain beliefs and certain religions even than we would like them to be. We have been made aware in recent weeks of some evidence of Islamophobia in affecting certain individuals and small groups here in the United States. And in this regard, the President of Indonesia has been in close communication with President Obama. Actually, he had written to President Obama on the eve of last Saturday, on the 11th, when there was the prospect of the burning of the holy Quran. And in a very clear way, expressing our view that like United States, because we are aware that the United States administration has also very eloquently and in a very crystal clear way denounced that prospect. And we welcomed that fact. And we had asked the US administration to do all it can to ensure that genius and despicable act was not to take place. And thankfully that has been the case. So in other words, I think between our two sides, the United States administration and the Indonesian government, and I'm sure even the broader American public and the broader Indonesian public, there is a shared belief in promotion of tolerance, religious tolerance, and religious harmony. I remember, of course, we all remember and recall the important statement by President Obama on this issue when he spoke in Cairo at Cairo University, I believe. And the speech was responded to by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when he spoke at Harvard University, I think last year. So we are on the same page. United States and Indonesia is both the governments as well as the peoples in terms of the importance of religious tolerance and interface dialogues. Having said that, of course, as democratic societies, our democracy also makes it possible for people with not necessarily the most agreeable views to find a space to express those kind of views. But we must work together and ensure that this issue does not complicate matters. And I must say that there has been very good communication between our two sides. Thank you very much, Josh Rogan, Foreign Policy Magazine. I'd like to ask you, could you please explain your view on the South China Sea issue and also how does your government view the preparations for the upcoming election in Burma? Do you think they're going well? Not well. And lastly, please explain why Indonesian President decided not to attend US ASEAN Summit next week. Thank you very much. The last one first, because it's relatively straightforward, is one of those things that all our leaders find themselves at one time or the other situation where there is an absolutely impossible clash in their diary keeping, diary situation. And much as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyna would have loved to be in New York to attend the very important ASEAN Leaders' Meeting, he find himself unable to do so. But having said that, I think it is a reflection of the very positive and mature state of our bilateral relations. The kind of communication that needs to happen on ASEAN matters between Indonesia and United States is taking place day in, day out on a constant, continuous basis. So the absence of our President in New York will not in any way impair that communication. And so that's that. And the first issue on the South China Sea, the point that I want to confirm and underscore that is that Indonesia is not a claimant state in the South China Sea equation. We do not have any overlapping jurisdictional issues on the South China Sea. On the contrary, because of precisely that status, some 20 years ago now, Indonesia began a process of conflict prevention efforts on in the South China Sea. A workshop series that Indonesia began involving all the claimant states, essentially how notwithstanding the jurisdictional issues that we have, the countries of the region can collaborate on certain functional issues without prejudice to the jurisdictional claims. And in fact, that process is to be celebrated or to be commemorated later on this year in November in Indonesia, the 20th year of our workshop series. So Indonesia is not a claimant state. Because of that, we have been trying to facilitate a dialogue among the claimant states within this workshop, South China Sea workshop series, and not least as well through ASEAN. Because as you are aware within ASEAN, there has been a record of parties in the South China Seas. It has not gone too far, made too much progress recently, but when Indonesia assumed its chairmanship of ASEAN in 2011, there certainly will be more of my highest priority to ensure that the commitments that the countries have made on South China Sea is actually followed up. On the elections in Myanmar, it's I guess how you want to see it half empty or half full in terms of the glass and water. We have, all of us have been focusing and encouraging and even expecting Myanmar to live up to its own, to its own commitments to have a free and fair democratic and inclusive elections. They are the kind of standards that the Myanmar authorities have repeatedly expressed their commitment to. And so we are going by that expressed commitment. It is yet to be held, obviously, next November. We are going to be keen to ensure that those kind of commitments are properly reflected. But at the same time, we are also mindful of our own democratic transition back in 1999, when we first, we held our first free and fair elections after some 30 years of authoritarian rule. It wasn't by any means the perfect elections compared to the 2004 and 2009 elections that we had, but it began a process of change in our country. And we hope that the election in Myanmar, plus some other dialogue process that perhaps can be begun, can be initiated, can be part of that process of change in Myanmar towards democratization as they themselves commit they will do. So that's where we are. But we are all zeroing in and focused on this effort because it has implications on ASEAN as a whole. It is, I want to emphasize, a national internal matter of Myanmar. It is not any other way. But at the same time, it has regional implications. We as family members of ASEAN are obviously keen to know how we can assist. In the same way that whenever Indonesia has a problem, and we have plenty of those, we are not shy in sharing our problems, in bringing our problems to ASEAN, because we need to earn ASEAN support by precisely by explaining where we are, what our problems are, and how we expect to overcome them. So there's nothing to be negative about this kind of approach. It's about comfort level. And I think within ASEAN, we are nearly there. We are beginning to be more sharing in our problems, not only our successes. And hopefully the months that we have now, between now and November, we can really take advantage of the possibilities to ensure that we have a free and fair elections in Myanmar. Yes, Mr. Minister, I'm Tom Rekford with the World Affairs Council and the Malaysia America Society. You mentioned in your formal remarks that the relatively new ASEAN charter is a work in progress. How would Indonesia like to see it improved? Well, ASEAN, we have plenty of documents, to be honest. We have been quite efficient and effective in creating all kinds of actions or plans of actions and blueprints and all that. It's just basically getting down to the business of implementing them, to be honest. All the wherewithal are there. All the commitments are made absolutely crystal clear. But in saying that, I don't want to be too sounding too cynical, because precisely the problem in the past, prior to 2003, was that many of ASEAN's conduct and business was done in a... It wasn't a rules-based organization. So now we have all the paraphernalia there, and we are keen to ensure that we really follow that up. In Indonesia, in 2003, when we took up the chairmanship of ASEAN, we were determined not to only chair ASEAN, but to provide some kind of earned leadership. And by that we mean we introduce this concept of ASEAN with the three pillars, especially the political pillars, namely the greater attention to human rights issues. Seven years later, I think we are in a better state than we were in 2003, but we are not complacent. We need to ensure quick wins, early delivery of some of our commitments, especially in the political area, because the economic dimension, I am not overly pessimistic, because there tend to be market forces as its own motivation and its own dynamics, and things tend to happen in any case in terms of greater integration. But the political community, the security community needs a lot of cajoling and needs a lot of encouragement and a lot of comfort level building. And in Indonesia, as I said before, we have many problems on our part, enough to share, to encourage other ASEAN countries not to feel a bit negative if they bring their own problems or challenges to the ASEAN forum. We have the ASEAN Human Rights, Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission, one of the Blue Ribbon organizations within the human rights dimension that we are keen to promote. But we have, as I said, where we all are there, the institutions, the documents are there. We need to ensure quick delivery and actual actions, not simply plan for actions. Time for one or two more questions. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Freeman. Thank you, Minister, for your comments. My name's Scott Morgan. I'm with a communication firm here in Washington. I was particularly struck by your comments about the university co-operations that you might see. Would you mind elaborating on that and what we might foresee in the future? Is that unfold? Well, yes. I'll be keen later on for you to have a more, a lengthier and more complete conversation with our newly presented ambassador. Because I know this is a project that our ambassador is extremely keen to focus on. As I said before in my remarks, we think it's absolutely, you know, I mean, this is really unsatisfactory to find ourselves now compared to, was it, 10 years ago? We had some 14,000 Indonesian students studying here in the United States. And now we are down to 7,000 half over the past 10 years. So we must be very brutally honest to find out where we are going wrong, why is the figure going down and to identify where bottlenecks are, where opportunities are being missed. And I know that Ambassador Dino Jalal is looking at that possibility because we are going to reap the dividend of having increased number of Indonesian students here studying in the United States, not immediately, but in the years to come. And then I must say that there have been a lot of good partners that have come forward, including involving our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We have now many Indonesian diplomats, young Indonesian diplomats who are being educated and trained for their masters and their doctoral degrees here in the United States. It's part and parcel of diversifying and strengthening our bilateral relations. But certainly this is an issue that we are going to really zeroing in on. We plan to have so-called education summit next March or April, I think, precisely to bring this issue to the fore. But I want to emphasize as well that this should not be a one-way process. It shouldn't be only about Indonesian students coming to the United States. Hopefully I'd like to think that the United States students as well will find it worthwhile if not the full time to study in Indonesia, but at least to spend part of their semester in some kind of exchange program in Indonesian universities. I know that there's been a challenge in the past in terms of security situation and safety and security and all that, but I hope that kind of issue can be better addressed just now. So it's a very important plank in our bilateral cooperation and one that will be obtaining a great deal of attention when I meet Secretary Clinton later on this morning. In the back. Assalamualaikum and Salamat Hari Raya, Minister Mati. My name is Fwadi Pitzuan. I work with Ambassador Nick Burns and Secretary Bill Cohen at a small consulting firm here in DC. Mr. Minister, I was a non-believer in a private sector and how it can bring about change. But after having worked in one, I think it's actually the opposite. I think private sector is actually has to lead this change. And my question to you is how would you incorporate private sector in this joint commission that you are about to launch with Secretary Clinton? And that's my first question. And my second point is I happen to be tied and ask the citizen and I am just going to make a plea to you that if the situation on the ground actually get better within next week, I would love for your president to participate in this U.S. Arts and Summit because you know that the result of this summit will be suboptimal without your president. Thank you very much. I have taken full note of the point that you said earlier, the latter point about the importance of our president's participation in the summit that is to be convened later this week, next week. As I said before, it's just one of those things that happens. Not in any way a reflection of our lack of recognition of the importance of the event, but certainly our delegation will be very much imbued with the importance of that occasion. And especially as we will be tearing ASEAN next year, so we have every interest to ensure that this particular summit that is going to take place next week provides a good stepping stone towards 2011. And we hope to have, of course, President Obama in the United States later on formally joined the East Asia Summit next October when we convened the East Asia Summit in Indonesia. On the first issue, I'd like to define the private sector there not only in terms of business, because especially when we talk of bilateral relations and even within ASEAN as well, we must really empower and involve not only the private sector, meaning the business community, but also the civil society as well. And then what is most striking in the most recent infrastructure in our bilateral relations that Indonesia is building within the United States is the fact that it is now being made more broader, no longer simply among people like ourselves in terms of government. Yeah, representatives, but also the business community, the civil society is also more actively engaged. But I think all these things are taking place in any case just now. What our task is how we can ensure better synergy, awareness of what the other one, other pillars or other communities are doing and to assure that we benefit fully from one another's greater communication and synergy so we can have the maximum impact on promoting bilateral relations. Of course, when we speak of civil society, Indonesia with its transformed democratic nature, if I was asked what would be the most important assets of Indonesia's democracy today, I would without hesitation emphasize the vibrancy and the dynamism of our civil society. Some of our most eloquent and some of our most brightest and most able young Indonesians especially are active in the civil society in Indonesia. And so we have every interest to project and to ensure that they are actually engaged in various bilateral and ASEAN endeavors as well. But thank you for reminding ourselves about that importance because we need to ensure, especially within ASEAN, an ASEAN that is so-called people-centered, not only involving meetings among officials, but good to keep us honest. Please continue to remind us to make sure that we do precisely that. On the ASEAN US, as I said, it's just one of those things, diaries issue, but not a reflection of our lack of recognition of the importance of the forum. I'd like before I sit the floor to thank you very much once again for giving me this opportunity in the moment that you have to share some thoughts about Indonesia's views on bilateral relations in the United States and also on ASEAN matters as well. We value very much the engagement with the United States bilaterally and also in the region. And as I said before, we have most able ambassador who has just recently arrived in Washington. Please do extend to him your full support and collaboration. And I'm sure it will be a mutually beneficial cooperation as well. Thank you very much. Thank you. Please join me once again in thanking Minister Martinana Nakawa for some very thoughtful and comprehensive remarks.