The U.S. Presence in Asia: The Role of Indonesia

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Indonesia -- the world's largest Muslim nation and third-largest democracy -- as part of her first official overseas tour in February. She affirmed the country's role in handling global problems including terrorism, protectionism, climate change and the economic crisis. Indonesian Ambassador Sudjadnan will provide a timely and comprehensive briefing on relations between the U.S. and this key Asian partner.

Amb. H E Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat became ambassador of Indonesia to the U.S. on January 13, 2006. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1981, Ambassador Parnohadiningrat has served multilateral postings in Geneva (1982-84; 1989-92), Vienna (1984-86) and New York (1996-98). He most recently held the post of secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, concurrently serving as the Indonesian senior official meeting leader to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). In 2005, he was elected chairman of the main committee of the Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference and in 2004, chaired the Third PrepComm for the 2005 NPT Review Conference in New York. In April 2002, he completed an 11-month tenure as ambassador to Australia and Vanuatu during the time of the East Timor conflict. In 1999, as secretary of the Indonesian Task Force for the Implementation of the Popular Consultations in East Timor, Ambassador Parnohadiningrat led 76 Indonesian diplomats to work with the United Nations on the elections in East Timor. He also worked on the issue of East Timor as director of International Organization in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as head of the Indonesian delegation to the bilateral Indonesia-East Timor meetings in 2000 to 2001. Ambassador Parnohadiningrat holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of Gajah Mada in Indonesia and studied at the School of International and Political Affairs at Columbia University.