A youth-oriented Indonesian music program played host to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Thursday, who said that Indonesia is a model country for harmonizing Islam, democracy, and modernity.
“I think Indonesia is important for many reasons. Democracy has really taken hold, and the economy is growing,” Clinton said on the program “Dashyat,” which loosely translates to “awesome.”
Clinton stopped in the country, the largest Muslim-majority country in the world and where President Obama spent part of his youth, as part of her first overseas junket.
“If you want to see Democracy and Islam and modernity and women’s rights all coexisting in one place in the world, come to Indonesia,” she said.
Clinton also said she hoped the administration’s actions to reengage the Middle East peace process would assuage the concerns of Indonesians about the situation.
The interview also touched on light subjects, though.
Clinton revealed that she listens to classical music while working, but still counts The Beatles and the Rolling Stones as some of her favorite bands.
She also tried her hand at speaking Indonesian, at the direction of the show’s young hosts.
Watch part one of the interview here:
Watch part two of the interview here: