Obama nominates Blake as US envoy to RI Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, August 01 2013 US President Barack Obama has nominated senior US State Department official Robert O. Blake, Jr. as the new US ambassador to Indonesia, home to world’s biggest Muslim population, the White House has announced. The nomination must be confirmed by the US Senate and also be agreed by the Indonesian government before Blake can take up his new position in Jakarta. Blake, a career diplomat from the US Senior Foreign Service, is currently working as US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs. Besides Indonesia, Obama also nominated ambassadors to Namibia, Trinidad and Tobago, the Philippines, Cameroon, Argentina and Niger. “I am grateful that these impressive individuals have chosen to dedicate their talents to serving the American people at this important time for our country. I am proud to nominate such accomplished and dedicated individuals to fill these important roles,” Obama said in a statement on Tuesday. “I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead,” Obama added. US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Kristen F. Bauer also confirmed the news to Indonesian media outlets during a breaking of the fast event in Jakarta on Wednesday. Diplomatic circles in Washington guessed the change several weeks ago, when Obama nominated Nisha Desai Biswal to replace Blake. The perception was that Blake would receive an important assignment in Asia, given his expertise on Asian affairs and Islamic countries. Vacancies were available only in Manila and Jakarta. Obama chose Blake to be his representative in a country where Obama spent four years of his childhood. Blake had previously served as US ambassador to Sri Lanka from 2006 to 2009 and in India, Tunisia and Algeria in various positions as part of US diplomatic missions. He joined the US Foreign Service in 1985 one year after he obtained his master’s degree from the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College. Blake’s nomination comes at a crucial time when the US is rebalancing its strategic posture toward Asia. With its geostrategic position, along with boasting the largest population and economy in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is poised to become a crucial strategic partner for the US. Blake’s task is to build a strong partnership with Indonesia. Based on Indonesian statistics, the US is currently Indonesia’s fifth- largest trading partner after Japan, China, Singapore and South Korea. Bilateral trade in 2012 was US$26.47 billion, slightly down from $27.27 billion in 2011. In the first four months of this year, two way trade stood at $7.98 billion. On the investment side, the US was the fourth biggest investor in Indonesia after Singapore, South Korea and Japan in 2012. But in the first six months of 2013, the US increased its foreign direct investment to $1.3 billion from $500 million in 2012. The biggest task for Blake will be to build a strong economic partnership between the two countries in line with the 2010 US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership. thejakartapost/news/2013/08/01/obama-nominates-blake-us-envoy-ri.html
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 02:49:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015