    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [November 20, 2006]
    [Pages 2112-2114]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Joint Statement Between the United States of America and the Republic of
    Indonesia
    November 20, 2006

        President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and President George W. Bush today reaffirmed the
    strength and vitality of the bilateral relationship between Indonesia
    and the United States, and reviewed the highly positive development of
    U.S-Indonesia relations over the past two years. The two Presidents
    recognized the special and enduring bonds between the two countries and
    their people, demonstrated recently by the close cooperation following
    the devastating tsunami in Aceh and Hurricane Katrina. President Bush
    expressed his admiration for the resilience and determination of the
    Indonesian people and government in rebuilding areas affected by the
    earthquake in Yogyakarta and Central Java.
        The two Presidents reaffirmed that Indonesia and the United States
    are bound by a broad-based democratic partnership based on equality,
    mutual respect, common interests and shared values of freedom, pluralism
    and tolerance. The Presidents committed themselves to broadening and
    deepening such partnership.
        President Bush congratulated Indonesia on the successful signing and
    implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding that has brought peace
    to the province of Aceh, and renewed the United States' firm support for
    Indonesia's peace-building efforts in Aceh. President Bush also re-
    emphasized the United States' strong support for Indonesia's national
    unity and territorial integrity, and opposition to secessionist
    movements in any part of Indonesia. President Bush stressed the
    importance of a united, democratic, pluralistic and prosperous Indonesia
    to the region and beyond.
        President Bush congratulated President Yudhoyono on signing an agreement with the Millennium Challenge
    Corporation for a $55 million Threshold program, noting that it
    represents a resounding endorsement of President Yudhoyono's anti-
    corruption program and ``pro-growth, pro-job, and pro-poor'' economic
    strategy. President Bush expressed confidence that the threshold program
    will have a transformative effect on Indonesia's development and
    international competitiveness.
        Noting the strength and importance of educational and cultural
    links, the Presidents reviewed the excellent work being done through the
    US$157 million U.S-Indonesia Education Initiative on basic education,
    the cornerstone of U.S. assistance to Indonesia and a symbol of our
    forward-looking partnership. The Presidents highlighted the importance
    of education for democracy, tolerance and economic progress and
    reaffirmed their commitment to working together to revitalize their
    cooperation in education. The Presidents also expressed their desire to
    encourage more people-to-people contacts through travel, educational
    exchanges, and tourism between Indonesia and the United States.
        President Yudhoyono and
    President Bush noted with satisfaction the continuing development of
    U.S-Indonesia economic and trade relations. They welcomed the strong

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    support by APEC Leaders for the conclusion of an ambitious Doha Round
    agreement and noted their joint commitment to do everything possible to
    realize the development goals of the Doha negotiations. President
    Yudhoyono briefed President Bush on his government's program to
    strengthen the investment climate by improving infrastructure, reducing
    red tape, enhancing the rule of law and respect for contracts. They
    welcomed a number of positive developments since their May 2005 meeting
    in Washington DC, including:
         The establishment of the ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced Partnership;
         Signing of a U.S.-ASEAN Trade and Investment Framework
                Arrangement (TIFA);
         The June 2006 extension of U.S. Export-Import Bank coverage
                to private Indonesian corporations for the first time since
                1998;
         The upgrading of Indonesia from the Special 301 Priority
                Watch List in November 2006 based on steps to improve
                intellectual property rights enforcement; and
         The strengthening of our dialogue through our bilateral
                Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) to further
                promote and facilitate trade and investment.
        The Presidents praised two recently signed MOUs, one on Cooperation
    in Trade in Textile and Apparel Goods and another on Combating Illegal
    Logging and Associated Trade in the context of the TIFA between the two
    countries. They also applauded the resumption of cooperation and
    capacity building activities between the U.S. Forest Service and the
    Indonesian Ministry of Forestry.
        The two Presidents discussed the grave threat posed by Avian
    Influenza (AI), and President Yudhoyono reiterated his Government's firm commitment to
    combating its spread. He briefed President Bush on Indonesia's
    completion of a unified national response plan, increase in the AI
    budget for 2007, and active participation in the International
    Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza. President Bush announced
    the United States would increase its AI assistance to Indonesia to
    expand animal surveillance and response efforts and strengthen nation-
    wide public awareness. President Bush confirmed that the U.S. Centers
    for Disease Control and Prevention and Animal and Plant Health
    Inspection Service would assign permanent staff to Indonesia to build
    more effective partnerships with their counterparts in Indonesia.
    President Yudhoyono thanked President Bush for the United States' work
    in support of the Indonesian Ministry of Health's efforts to identify
    human AI cases and investigate AI outbreaks. The two Presidents stressed
    the imperative of continued and enhanced cooperation between Indonesian
    and American health workers and medical scientists to fight infectious
    diseases, including through the Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU-2),
    which has been in operation since 1968. They agreed that negotiations to
    extend the research work of NAMRU-2 should be expedited.
        President Bush and President Yudhoyono reviewed the expanding partnership between the U.S.
    and Indonesia in the area of disaster management, emergency
    preparedness, and mitigation. The two Presidents noted the steady
    progress on constructing the west coast road in Aceh Province that will
    restore communication and economic links to communities that were
    devastated by the tsunami, and agreed on the importance of expediting
    land acquisition so that the road can be completed on schedule.
    President Bush applauded the significant progress made in reconstructing
    Aceh, paving the way for sustained peace and economic growth. President
    Bush and President Yudhoyono also welcomed the recent agreement between
    their two governments to cooperate on the development of a tsunami early
    warning system that will

    [[Page 2114]]

    safeguard Indonesia's tsunami-prone areas by 2009.
        The two leaders noted the tremendous opportunities for cooperation
    between Indonesia and the United States in the areas of alternative
    fuels and environmental protection. President Yudhoyono briefed President Bush on his ambitious
    biofuel development initiative and the Presidents endorsed the U.S.-
    Indonesia Energy Policy Dialogue as a forum to discuss ways and means to
    acquire clean and safe alternative energy, including biofuels.
        As the leaders of two nations which have both suffered terrorist
    attacks on their soil, the two leaders reaffirmed their solidarity in
    defeating the scourge of terrorism. Both Presidents expressed
    satisfaction at the successful arrest and conviction in Indonesia of
    suspects involved in the 2002 incident in Timika, and agreed to begin
    negotiations toward a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.
        President Bush and President Yudhoyono discussed a broad range of regional and global
    security issues. President Bush and President Yudhoyono welcomed the
    successful restoration of bilateral military ties, and pledged to make
    such ties sustainable and mutually beneficial in the support of peace
    and stability. They agreed that such ties would be primarily targeted at
    increasing coordination on disaster relief, exchanges and training on
    the role of militaries in democratic societies, increasing mutual
    professional development and enhancing regional and maritime security.
    They agreed to explore the possibility of a Status of Forces Agreement.
        President Bush congratulated Indonesia on its election as a non-
    permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Both Presidents
    pledged to work closely together on issues before the Council in order
    to maintain international peace and security, especially the challenge
    posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons program. President Bush applauded
    Indonesia's participation in maintaining peace in southern Lebanon by
    volunteering forces to join UNIFIL. The two Presidents also discussed
    the Arab-Israeli conflict, and both Presidents stressed their support
    for the establishment of a viable, independent, democratic and sovereign
    Palestine state that would live side by side in peace with Israel.
        The two Presidents stressed the importance of inter-civilizational
    and inter-faith dialogues. The two Presidents expressed their concern to
    see growing religious intolerance in some parts of the world and their
    common desire to work against it. President Bush expressed great
    admiration and respect for Indonesia's long history of religious
    tolerance and moderate Islamic thought.

    Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of
    this joint statement.