U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick traveled to the Republic of Indonesia from November 8 to 11, 2019. Deputy Administrator Glick's visit coincided with the 70th anniversary of U.S.-Indonesia relations.

In Jakarta, the Deputy Administrator met with Mohamad Al-Arief, Special Advisor to the Minister of Finance, to reinforce USAID's long-standing commitment to a development partnership with Indonesia. They discussed the ministry's plans to increase decentralization, enhance tax administration and improve transparency and accountability throughout Indonesia's economy.

The Deputy Administrator later joined officials from the Indonesian Government and USAID's implementing partners, including Virginia-based The Nature Conservancy and California-based Anova Food, LLC, to highlight USAID's commitment to advancing sustainable fisheries. The United States imports approximately $1.8 billion annually in seafood and seafood products from Indonesia and requires all wild-caught seafood imports to be traceable and compliant with the laws and regulations of the source country. USAID works with the Government of Indonesia and the fishing industry to improve the sustainable management of fisheries to protect Indonesia's biologically diverse marine ecosystems and connect Indonesian producers to global markets, particularly the United States.

Deputy Administrator Glick then visited a USAID-supported hospital to observe the impact of its improved care for patients with tuberculosis (TB). She viewed state-of-the-art, rapid-diagnosis GeneXpert machines produced by California-based medical-technology company Cepheid, Inc, which shorten the diagnosis time for TB and drug-resistant TB from several weeks to just hours. With USAID's funding, the availability of GeneXperts in Indonesia has expanded from 17 machines in 2013 to more than 960 today, which has contributed significantly to the ability of Indonesian clinicians to diagnose TB quickly and prevent the spread of the airborne disease. Deputy Administrator Glick also highlighted USAID's new Global Accelerator to End Tuberculosis, for which Indonesia is a priority country. By working directly with local non-governmental organizations and national governments, the Global Accelerator catalyzes public and private investments to end the TB epidemic and build in-country commitment and capacity to sustain progress.

Deputy Administrator Glick concluded her trip with a visit to a factory that supplies American companies, including Maryland-based McCormick & Company, with spices grown by USAID-supported small farmers. While at the factory, Deputy Administrator Glick presented a Governor's Citation from Governor of Maryland Larry Hogan to express his appreciation and praise. The producers of the spices processed at the factory have traditionally been subsistence farmers who live in Eastern Indonesia, including Papua, where the poverty rate is more than double the national rate. USAID has connected these small farmers to the global market in partnership with Ohio-based Cooperative Business International (CBI) Global. As a result, some farmers' incomes have doubled. For additional information, see this USAID-produced video and photo story, "The Vanilla Connection."

Before arriving in Indonesia, the Deputy Administrator visited the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the People's Republic of Bangladesh. Read the readout of her trip to Vietnam here, her Thailand press readout here, and the readout of her trip to Bangladesh here.