Hillary Clinton in Jakarta, a new hope for US - Indonesia partnership

The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, has declared relations with Indonesia critical to US efforts to mend ties with the Islamic world, after arriving in the country on her tour of east Asia. Hillary on Wednesday (18 Feb 2009) said: "Building a comprehensive partnership with Indonesia is a critical step on behalf of the United States commitment to smart power to ... speak to a country that has demonstrated that Islam and modernity can not only co-exist but thrive together,".