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resident Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo will visit the US from Oct. 25 to 28, following an invitation from US President Barack Obama. Jokowi'€™s first trip to the US as Indonesia'€™s head of state will be a historic opportunity to highlight the importance of the two countries'€™ cooperation on global affairs.

What do we have beyond the diplomatic statements?

There is reason to be supportive of President Jokowi'€™s international activities in and of themselves. But ultimately the results have to impact domestic needs. Our economy is not growing well, the rupiah is succumbing to the stronger US dollar and global capital outflows. Employment is stagnant and shifting to informal sectors, as there is no growth of real investment. At the root, infrastructure is severely underequipped to cope with increasing development demands.

The public is skeptical of international forays that have been discredited by the numerous irrelevant trips by lawmakers and state visits by previous governments.

The need is pressing for the public to perceive an agenda of issues that presidential visits can address. Successive presidential visits must form a progression of content.

The President will be making trips abroad every month until the end of the year: October to Washington DC, November to Antalya, Turkey, for the G20 summit and December to Paris for the COP21.

The public must be made to understand that these meetings will help to reach the objective of economic stabilization and growth, which will be achieved by accelerated infrastructure development.

This kind of public awareness is facilitated when we apply the proper perspective to the multitude of international issues that crowd the public consciousness.

The Jokowi administration has set an infrastructure target to be achieved by 2019, in which 24 seaports, 15 airports, power plants with a capacity of 35,000 Megawatts and nine million hectares of agricultural land will be developed.

This is the main imperative of the Jokowi vision and the key to mid- and long-term economic development. But there is an elephant in the room.

Climate change is a threat to our survival. But there are people who are still unaware of the issue because their immediate interests are not served by the notion that climate change is a long-term issue, which it is not.

The immediate prerequisites for development are action on climate change and immediate economic stabilization. Our elephant is climate change, a serious risk not just to development but also to the very survival of society as we know it.

Being an island nation with a coastline second only in length to sparsely populated Canada, Indonesia is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Having forests that are being burned and destroyed, we stand to lose the very resources that are feeding us with oxygen.

Yet Indonesia is one of the most potent countries in contributing to mitigation and adaptation to climate change. We have traditional wisdom that knows how to take care of our forests, a strength that is often recognized by world meetings and awards given to indigenous peoples.

When Indonesia speaks up on climate change, the world listens. The COP21 climate conference in Paris is eagerly awaiting the call of President Jokowi to rally the world to action against climate change. COP21 brings the opportunity for Indonesia to reinforce its national agenda with international support. There must be consistency in the international agenda, and climate policies underline that consistency.

Preceded by bilateral talks in the US this month and the G20 in Turkey next month, Paris brings us to a major milestone in our road map. The COP21 meeting is scheduled to start on Dec. 1. The stage is set for the President at a special event.

Leadership in climate change immediately brings credibility in the global economic and investment agenda.  The paradigm shift in the annual UNFCCC COPs, which represent global action on climate change, will bring bottom-up decision-making, putting the initiative in the hands of developing countries. It is the parallel of the paradigm shift in Indonesia from a top-down authoritarian system to Jokowi'€™s democratic and practical approach.

Jokowi'€™s visit to the US will include a bilateral meeting with President Obama at the White House on Oct. 26, as well as meetings with senior figures of the US government and the US Congress and business leaders in Washington, DC on Oct. 26 to 27. The following day, President Jokowi will visit San Francisco for meetings with business communities and university leaders.

Jokowi'€™s passion for infrastructure development is well recognized. So is his commitment to investment and employment. They will have a larger chance of success after a strong showing in Paris when Indonesia asserts its global leadership through practical yet ambitious programs.
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The writer was presidential spokesman under former president Abdurrahman Wahid (1999-2001)