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Obama, Yudhoyono boost climate change, education programs |
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100627/wl_asia_afp/usindonesiapoliticsclimateeducation;_ylt=Ap.TKcdwhLjAfWn5Vt7udF1pl88F;_ylu=X3oDMTNiZ2kxNTZrBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDEwMDYyNy91c2luZG9uZXNpYXBvbGl0aWNzY2xpbWF0ZWVkdWNhdGlvbgRwb3MDMjIEc2VjA3luX3BhZ2luYXRlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDb2JhbWF5dWRob3lv
US President Barack Obama and Indonesian leader Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono agreed in talks Sunday to initiate programs to fight climate change and boost education.
The programs will be part of a "comprehensive partnership" to be launched when Obama finally visits Indonesia, a trip to a childhood home he has put off twice due to domestic concerns.
Obama did not reveal a new date but assured Yudhoyono he would make the trip to Jakarta, where he spent four years growing up as a kid between the ages of six and 10.
"I am confident that we are going to get there," Obama said, offering the traditional Malay greeting "selamat pagi" as the leaders had breakfast together on the final day of the G20 summit in the Canadian city of Toronto.
Obama said the United States would help set up a climate change study center in Indonesia and was considering a 160-million-dollar offer for joint youth programs focused on education.
Yudhoyono said the two countries were developing a comprehensive partnership "promoting peace, reforming the world economy, addressing climate change, as well as promoting harmony among civilizations.
"A stable, dynamic, and strong relations between Indonesia and the US is good for our region and for our world," said Yudhoyono, adding that the partnership was intended "to meet the challenges of the 21st century."
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa will co-chair a joint commission later this year to supervise the progress of partnership programs.
Obama postponed his original trip to Indonesia in March to ensure the passage of his health care reforms, a top legislative priority, through Congress.
The rescheduled visit in mid-June had to be put off again as the president came under fire for his response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, America's worst ever environmental disaster.
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