This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/7896126.stm
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
Clinton set for Indonesia talks | Clinton set for Indonesia talks |
(20 minutes later) | |
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on the second leg of her four-nation Asian tour. | |
During her brief visit, Mrs Clinton is scheduled to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other senior officials. | |
They will discuss a range of issues including education and climate change. | |
But Mrs Clinton's visit is also being carefully watched for signs of a new US policy towards the Muslim world. | |
This is in some ways the most intriguing part of her Asian tour. | |
The symbolism is powerful - her first visit to a Muslim majority country; a stable, democratic country, half a world away from the Middle East. | |
And in a sign of the breadth of expectations Mrs Clinton will face here, her welcoming party included both senior government officials, and students from US President Barack Obama's old school. | |
'Mutual respect' | |
Mr Obama spent some of his childhood in Jakarta and there is a lot of goodwill among Indonesians towards his new government. | |
He has already made it clear he wants a new kind of relationship with the Muslim world, based on "mutual interests and mutual respect". | |
Mrs Clinton's visit will be carefully watched for signs of that new engagement - and also for signs that Washington wants to develop closer ties with South East Asia. | |
Indonesian officials have privately said that is exactly what they are hoping for; that they would welcome closer co-operation with the new US administration. | |
Relations between the two governments grew markedly under former President George W Bush, with the normalisation of military ties and cooperation on counter-terrorism, following a spate of bomb attacks by Islamist groups here. | |
But they deteriorated among the population in general, as a result of US policies in the Middle East, and its invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. | |
That is still what defines most attitudes here. | |
Many people say they welcome the symbolism of Mrs Clinton's visit, and are pleased with President Obama's election, but that they do not expect too much real change. |