President Hopes Next Government Will Continue RI-U.S. Coop

Washington DC, Sept 26 (Antara) - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has expressed hope that the government of President-elect Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, will carry forward the ten-year achievement related to cooperation with the United States. "I hope the next government will continue what we have achieved so far in the past ten years in our cooperation with the United States," the president stated while being conferred an award from the United States-Indonesia Society (USINDO) here on Thursday evening, or Friday morning in Jakarta. Yudhoyono remarked that although he will end his term in office in less than a month, he will continue to provide valuable contribution to the development of Indonesia-US relations in accordance with his capacity as a member of the Indonesian society. USINDO opined that President Yudhoyono, since the beginning of his government, has improved bilateral relations with the US by establishing a strategic partnership cooperation agreement that continues to develop until today. During his visit to the United States, President Yudhoyono also met his US counterpart Barack Obama while attending the Open Government Partnership (OGP) meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Wednesday. Presidential Special Staff for International Relations Teuku Faizasyah stated that Obama lauded Yudhoyono`s leadership, including Indonesia`s leadership in the OGP forum. "President Obama appreciates Indonesia`s role, and the role being played by President Yudhoyono," Faizasyah noted, adding that Obama in his speech emphasized that Indonesia has played an important role and has started numerous initiatives related to the implementation of the OGP program.