A U.S. Congressional delegation arrived in Indonesia ahead of the 70th Independence celebration and met with President Jokowi on August 15. The U.S. delegation led by Representative Vern Buchanan from Florida, included Representative David Price from North Carolina, Representative Jim McDermott from Washington, Representative Susan Davis from California, Representative Dina Titus from Nevada, and Representative Adrian Smith from Nebraska. The delegation congratulated President Jokowi on his good governance and economic reform efforts. The U.S. Congressional members applauded Indonesia as a model of democracy and religious tolerance and urged Indonesia to share its experiences with the world. The U.S. Representatives explored ways to boost the U.S.-Indonesia partnership, in particular they urged greater efforts by both countries to strengthen trade and investment ties. The U.S. Congressional delegation also congratulated President Jokowi on Indonesia’s 70th Independence Day celebration and warmly welcomed President Jokowi’s visit to the United States later this year.
The U.S. delegation also held productive discussions on economic, security and governance issues with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Presidential Chief of Staff Luhut Pandjaitan.
The U.S. Congressional delegation will meet with leaders of Indonesia’s legislature on August 16th as part of the on-going efforts to strengthen parliamentary ties between the United States and Indonesia. The U.S. Representatives will also attend the Independence Day celebration at the Merdeka Palace on August 17th.
The representatives are leaders of the House Democracy Partnership, a bipartisan commission of the U.S. House of Representatives that has been engaged with the Indonesian parliament since 2006. This is the partnership’s sixth visit to Indonesia, no country has been visited more by this Congressional grouping. Representatives Buchanan and McDermott are the co-chairs of the Indonesian Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives, having made multiple trips to the archipelago over the last decade.
