Hillary Clinton tipped to visit Indonesia on Feb. 18-19+

JAKARTA, Feb. 5 Kyodo -
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to pay a two-day
visit to Indonesia later this month, a local newspaper reported Thursday.
The Kompas daily quoted Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla as saying amid a
visit to Washington that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden informed him about
Clinton's planned Feb. 18-19 visit to Indonesia during their bilateral meeting
Wednesday afternoon.
According to Kalla, after Clinton decided to visit China, Japan and South
Korea, U.S. President Barack Obama, who lived in Indonesia for four years as a
child, asked her to add Indonesia to the itinerary of her first overseas trip.
The report said that during her Indonesia visit, Clinton will meet her
Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirajuda on Feb. 18 and President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono on the next day.
Obama spent his time in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, in
the early 1970s after his American mother divorced his Kenyan father and
married an Indonesian.
In his Jan. 20 inaugural speech, Obama promised to open a new chapter with the
Muslim world, saying the United States is seeking a new way forward, based on
mutual respect and mutual interests.
Many Indonesians have criticized the U.S. policy toward the Middle East and its
support for Israel but hope the new president will reflect on his experience in
Indonesia when formulating his policies.
A series of anti-Israel and anti-U.S. protests have been taking place in the
country since Israel's offensive in Gaza began in late December.
==Kyodo
2009-02-05 20:24:25