VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJA #0240 0411009
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 101009Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1459

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000240 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
FOR SECRETARY CLINTON FROM AMBASSADOR HUME 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAID PREL TPHY PGOV ID
SUBJECT: Washington Issues for Upcoming SecState Visit to Indonesia 
 
¶1. There are three outstanding issues in Washington, which, if 
positively addressed, will make the Secretary's trip to Indonesia 
more successful: the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Peace Corps; 
and, a Science and Technology agreement.  Positive news that 
Washington is moving forward on these topics would deepen the impact 
of the Secretary's visit and lay the groundwork for a successful 
visit by President Obama later this year. 
 
MCC COMPACT 
----------- 
 
¶2. In December 2008, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) 
Board conferred "Compact eligibility" status on Indonesia, and 
planned to initiate Compact development discussions in March 2009. 
In February, MCC announced that it would postpone Compact 
discussions in light of "funding uncertainties."  Indonesia takes 
pride in its reform achievements, and may interpret this as a 
weakening of support from the Obama administration.  As chair of the 
MCC Board, the Secretary should announce a firm date for an MCC team 
to initiate Compact discussions.  Any funding concerns can be 
addressed during the approximately two years it will take for 
Indonesia to develop a compact proposal. 
 
PEACE CORPS 
----------- 
 
¶3.  Indonesia is an excellent fit for Peace Corps.  Assistant 
Secretary Hill informed President Yudhoyono in April 2008 that the 
Peace Corp intended to reopen a program here.  The next step is to 
update Peace Corps' Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with 
Indonesia.  The Peace Corps, however, has not approved the launch of 
negotiations because of budgetary concerns.  An announcement of the 
start of MOU discussions would set the stage for signing a completed 
MOU during a possible Presidential visit later this year and a 
return of volunteers in 2010. 
 
S&T AGREEMENT 
------------- 
¶4.  The Indonesians have a strong interest in engaging with us in 
science and technology.   Our previous Science and Technology (S&T) 
agreement expired in 2002.  We began the process to renew the 
agreement in September 2008; and we agreed to produce the initial 
draft.  We understand the draft is almost ready.  If Secretary 
Clinton could announce the release of this draft to the Indonesians 
during her visit, it would advance this issue considerably and 
signal to the Indonesians our interest to engage on S&T issues.  It 
would also create the opportunity to complete the agreement as a 
deliverable for a possible future Presidential visit. 
 
¶5.  If the Secretary were able to deliver good news on these issues 
during her upcoming visit, Indonesians would take note.  And while 
there are no confirmed plans for President Obama to visit Indonesia, 
President Yudhoyono has invited him to visit before or after the 
November APEC Summit in Singapore.  These issues - MCC, Peace Corps 
and the S&T agreement - will take time to complete.  Launching our 
work on these issues now will be important to securing substantive 
deliverables in time for such an event. 
HUME