Obama Appreciates Indonesia’s Economic Reform

“And with the largest population in Southeast Asia, we are the largest economy in Southeast Asia and Indonesia intends to join the TPP”, said Mr. Widodo.

Indonesia’s disaster agency says fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra have left 10 dead, a few burned while fighting the blazes and others overcome by pollution.

Negotiators completed the trade agreement earlier this month, capping a yearslong process to create a regional trade bloc and lower market barriers and access.

It could prove a tough sell in Indonesia, where Widodo faces stiff opposition to liberalizing the economy. At the same time, the Widodo government has been avoiding using the term “climate change”, which is seen by many Indonesians as a “product of the West”, Mr Witoelar told reporters.

For the Obama administration, the main agenda for the visit includes the threat of extremism in the world’s largest Islamic democracy, and dealing with tension in the South China Sea.

“While our focus is on the domestic procedures for TPP approval, we will, of course, continue sharing information about TPP with Indonesia and other interested parties”, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said Monday.

Widodo and Obama also touched on the topic of climate change, a sensitive topic given the severe haze in Southeast Asia (caused by forest fires related to slash-and-burn practices applied by palm oil and pulp & paper companies on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan). His schedule in Washington will go ahead as planned, but he’ll skip a stop in San Francisco and will fly home on Tuesday afternoon. Fire emissions have already passed Japan’s annual greenhouse gas emissions and by the end of the year, the fires could account for up to 3 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions from all human activities.

Amnesty global US said in a statement it hopes Obama will also confront Widodo about Indonesia’s human rights record.

Widodo said they had agreed to work together on the issue “for the sake of future generations”. That’s because numerous fires are on peat lands that are extremely rich in carbon. President Widodo finalized more than $20 billion worth of US deals during his trip, including a $500 million infrastructure investment from Coca-Cola and up to $1 billion from General Electric for Indonesia’s energy and healthcare sectors, according to the Indonesian embassy in Washington.