Bogor,     -  Indonesia will be the first predominantly Muslim country to be visited by a US  envoy  exploring   science and technology cooperation  based on President Barack Obama's  commitment to mend the US relations with the Islamic world.

    The US envoy would be Prof D Bruce Alberts of the National Institute of Sciences (NAS), according to Dr Deddy Setiapermana, head of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)'s science and technology cooperation and familiarization bureau, here Saturday.

     Prof.Alberts' visit was intended to explore the possibility of re-establishing  science and technology cooperation with Indonesia which was discontinued in 2002.

     "Indonesia actually was already cooperating in  the sci-tech field with the US in  1978 to 2002 when  Prof.Dr.BJ.Habibie was Indonesia's research and technology miniter. The cooperation with the United States was halted in 2002 and there had been  no cooperation since then,  Setiapermana said.

     The arrival of Prof. Alberts from the National Institute of Sciences (NAS) next week would be to  reciprocate a visit by a LIPI and Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI) delegation  to the United States some time ago to explore  sci-tech cooperation, he said.

      Prof.Alberts' visit would be  a follow up to  President Barack Obama's commitment  to restore  US relations with the Muslim world which he made in Egypt last year.

     "Through US  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the US govenrment had selected three academics  to visit Muslim countries to explore cooperation in the sci-tech field with them. The selected academics were  Dr.Bruce Alberts, Dr. Ahmed Zewail, and Dr.Elyas Z," he said.

      During his visit to Jakarta, Prof.Alberts would give a lecture titled "Science policy in the framework of climate change on human security and environment" at LIPI on Tuesday (Jan 19).

      The US researcher would also visit  a number of laboratory facilities at the LIPI Center for Science, Cibinong, West Java, such as the Zoological Museum, Herbarium Museum in Bogor, the Research Center for Biotechnology, and Chemical Research Center at Puspiptek Serpong, the Ancol Oceanographic Research Center, also the Geo-technology Research Center in Bandung.

          "His (Prof.Alberts's) visit is also related to  President Obama's plan to visit Indonesia in mid-2010," he added.

-Antara, 17 January 2010-