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resident-elect Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo'€™s vision for maritime affairs and diplomacy could turn the Foreign Ministry into a centerpiece of his administration, putting pressure on the former Jakarta governor to exercise extra care in his pick of the country'€™s next top envoy.

With jockeying for the position intensifying as his inauguration nears, Jokowi has said he would not announce his Cabinet until Oct. 21, one day after he officially assumes the presidency.

Like other strategic posts in the Cabinet, Jokowi and vice president-elect Jusuf Kalla are reportedly struggling to identify the most qualified person to lead the foreign ministry.

At least four candidates '€” some of whom are career diplomats and some of whom are ministry outsiders '€” are being considered for the position.

Foreign policy analysts have warned Jokowi and Kalla against making an uninformed choice, as the foreign minister will play a pivotal role in making the pair'€™s '€œglobal maritime axis'€ doctrine a reality.

'€œThe next foreign minister must have competence beyond professionalism and diplomacy. He or she must truly understand the Jokowi-Kalla platform, particularly when it comes to their vision for making Indonesia the world'€™s maritime axis,'€ Andreas Hugo Pareira, the head of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle'€™s (PDI-P) defense and international relations division, said on Thursday.

Another crucial qualification was a clean track record, particularly in terms of human rights and corruption, Andreas said.

The PDI-P politician added that proven track records were crucial in building the international credibility that would be necessary for implementing key programs.

'€œTherefore, the next foreign minister must not take the '€˜business-as-usual'€™ approach. One key indication of his or her suitability is by looking at they way he or she sets the ministry'€™s priorities in line with Jokowi-Kalla'€™s vision,'€ Andreas said.

Former Indonesian ambassador to Switzerland, Djoko Susilo, said that excellent knowledge of international law would be another key qualification.

'€œIssues related to maritime affairs always have something to do with international law, particularly when it comes to border disputes, for instance,'€ he said.

Djoko also underlined Jokowi'€™s desire for ambassadors to work like '€œsalesmen'€ to promote Indonesian products abroad.

'€œThese two things are new, and I think the Foreign Ministry does not give much attention to them. So I think the next minister must have the ability to create breakthroughs in the ministry, to change the old paradigm and adapt to Jokowi-Kalla'€™s vision,'€ he said.

Djoko said that whether the next minister was a career diplomat or not was unimportant.

'€œThe ability to initiate breakthroughs and consolidate the ministry'€™s manpower to support Jokowi'€™s vision must be set as the most important requirement,'€ he said.

The University of Indonesia'€™s (UI) international relations department head, Evi Fitriani, earlier suggested that Jokowi should appoint a career diplomat as his foreign minister.

Evi argued that Jokowi would attend many international forums within weeks of his inauguration and that Indonesia would face many international challenges in the near future, including the launch of the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), unresolved border issues with neighboring countries and territorial conflict in the South China Sea.

'€œA career diplomat as foreign minister is preferable to a political appointee because otherwise the job will be encumbered by politics,'€ she said.