U.S. Ambassador-designate to Indonesia Cameron Hume promised in front of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday to win Indonesia’s support for key U.S. foreign policy goals, including on the Iranian nuclear row, Middle East conflicts and Myanmar problems.

Speaking in front of members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Hume said relations between the U.S. and Indonesia are of vital importance.

“If confirmed, I will work to enhance Indonesia’s support for our key foreign policy priorities, including ensuring Iran does not develop nuclear weapons, advancing the Middle East peace process and promoting a democratic transition in Burma (Myanmar),” he said in his speech, a copy of which was made available to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He cited Indonesia’s more assertive role on the world stage to work as a force for achieving international peace and stability, including Indonesia’s commitment of troops to UN forces in Lebanon and the recent vote for UN Security Council Resolution 1747 to impose more sanctions on Iran, as an example of how important Indonesia has become to the U.S.

While praising Indonesia’s success in holding elections in Aceh, where a former rebel became a governor, as a remarkable achievement in the areas of democracy and human rights, Hume said the U.S. is still concerned about the human rights situation in the country.

“Despite encouraging developments in Indonesia’s efforts to build a strong criminal case regarding the murder of human rights activist Munir, this crime has not been fully resolved.

“If confirmed, I will make it a priority to continue to press the government for a fair accounting of past human rights abuses committed by security forces in East Timor and elsewhere,” he said.

Hume said the U.S. should continue to channel funds into Indonesia’s education sector as well as assist in economic and justice sector reform to enable the country to attract more investment, provide more jobs and build institutions and respect for rule of law that “will provide Indonesia’s democracy with a rock-solid foundation”.

He said in less than ten years, Indonesia has managed to travel an astonishing distance, from the ruin of the Asian financial crisis and fall of a dictatorship to a vibrant democracy with solid economic growth.

“In many ways, though, these gains are fragile. If confirmed, I look forward to working with the Congress and a wide array of U.S. government agencies to promote the success of our policies and of Indonesia’s democracy,” Hume said.

Hume, a career diplomat, has undertaken numerous diplomatic assignments, including four separate assignments as a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations. He has also worked as a political counselor at the U.S embassies in Damascus and Beirut.

From 1997 to 2000, he was the U.S. ambassador to Algeria before becoming the U.S. ambassador to South Africa between 2001 and 2004. He took up a post as deputy inspector general at the Department of State from 2004 to 2005 and then became charge d’affaires in Khartoum, Sudan.

Hume, a father of three children, has written a number of books including The United Nations, Iran and Iraq: How Peacemaking Changed (1994) and Mission to Algiers: Diplomacy by Engagement (2006).