U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was greeted at the airport in Jakarta by 44 children from President Barack Obama’s former elementary school. The children sang traditional folk songs and waved Indonesian and American flags.
Afterwards, Clinton met with her Indonesian counterpart, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda. Wirajuda said he expected their talks to focus on Indonesia’s strategic importance in the region, the Iranian nuclear dispute and the war in Afghanistan.
At a news conference, Clinton praised Indonesia for its efforts in fighting Islamic militancy. Despite being the world’s most populous Muslim country with some 230 million people, Indonesia maintains a secular government.
Salman Al Farisi, the deputy chief of mission at the Indonesian embassy, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the message that Clinton’s trip sends to the rest of the Muslim world and Indonesia’s role in the U.S. war on terror.
02/18/2009 :: 08:32:39 PM
Donald Simmonds Says:
I wish you could provide closed caption for interviews with foreign guests whose English is heavily accented. Otherwise I find your program is a useless waste of this interested viewer’s time.