2010-11-08 14:16

JAKARTA - The United States President Barack Obama's expected arrival in Indonesia on Tuesday for his first visit since his childhood years here will make both countries true partners, the JakartaGlobe daily quoted foreign minister as saying on Monday.

"As a member of the G20 largest economies and the world's fourth most populous country, and with political stability and a dynamic economy cemented in place, Indonesia finally has a global voice in keeping with its size," said Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.

In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with the Jakarta Globe, he outlined what he sees as Indonesia's role in the world and its "true partnership" with the United States. Natalegawa described the partnership as a way to deepen ties and to create a relationship between equals that covered economics and business, education, interfaith dialogue, climate change and civil society.

Natalegawa also said that Indonesia is well positioned to communicate with the West as a Muslim country.

"It can be part of the solution on a range of issues, not just Muslim extremism but nuclear proliferation and climate change."

The Islam issue, he said, is too often oversimplified.

Obama is also expected to announce a new climate initiative and to further broaden ties in education at a time when the number of Indonesian students in the United States has dropped by 50 percent, from 14,000 to 7,000, over the past 10 years.