By Ernest Z. Bower

Indonesia’s new presidential chief of staff Gen. Luhut Panjaitan visited Washington, D.C. this week to build on a strengthening foundation of U.S.-Indonesia ties and prepare for the inaugural visit of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Before diving into his series of meetings with top U.S. Asia policy makers in the Obama administration and Congress, he met with the CSIS Asia chairs to get insights into how Washington sees the Indo Pacific and plans for leaders’ visits, and to think broadly about Indonesia’s foreign and national security policy. After that discussion, I interviewed him for the CSIS digital leaders interview series The DIALOG. Watch the eight minute interview here:

Luhut is a man on a mission. He is a straight talker. His family comes from the Batak tribes of North Sumatra, notorious for their blunt assessments and directness – roughly the Indonesian equivalent of folks from Brooklyn.

At his president’s direction, Luhut is restructuring the Office of the President in Jakarta. He is using a hybrid model loosely based on the National Security Council in the United States and 10 Downing Street in the United Kingdom. His office, called Bina Graha, is a hive of activity directly adjacent to Istana, the president’s office. Confidence and capability ooze from the venue which is staffed by a dozen highly motivated, superbly-educated young Indonesian economists, security and political experts who digest and synthesize data around the clock, and tasking ministries for input. They then provide Luhut with policy coordination options to present to Jokowi and then on to the cabinet.

Luhut is here working to elevate the Indonesian relationship with the United States to a strategic level. Jokowi’s visit will be critical in that effort. As an anchor of ASEAN and the world’s fourth most populous country, Indonesia wants to emphasize democracy and values based economic growth. Jakarta also intends to assert its interests both in the region and in transnational global issues ranging from geopolitical to environmental.

Enjoy the video and look for more in this week’s CSIS Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies featured essay on Jokowi’s visit from my colleagues Murray Hiebert and Phuong Nguyen.

Mr. Ernest Z. Bower is Senior Adviser and holds the Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies at CSIS. Follow him on twitter @BowerCSIS.