Bali Process Unaffected by Lombok Earthquake

Nusa Dua, Bali, MINA — Despite Sunday evening`s magnitude-7 earthquake that rocked Lombok and Sumbawa Islands in West Nusa Tenggara, the Bali Process meeting on August 6-7, 2018, will be held according to schedule, Antara News reported.

“So far, no delegation has canceled its attendance at this meeting after the quake last night,” Kamapradipta Isnomo, the director of social culture and international organizations of the developing countries at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted on the sidelines of the “Bali Process” meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Monday.

Isnomo remarked that Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi and her Australian counterpart Julie Bishop had already arrived in Bali to serve as co-chairmen for the 7th meeting of the Bali Process. e

He explained that the Bali Process meeting will go ahead, as the area in Nusa Dua, especially the Bali International Convention Center and Westin Hotel, where the meeting will take place, are unaffected by the powerful earthquake in Lombok on Sunday evening.

To provide direction to the delegates, the organizing committee is disseminating security information in the event of natural disasters, such as earthquakes.

Handling instructions during and after the earthquake were disseminated by officers from the local hotel to the delegates just before the meeting on the first day.

“This is to (offer a sense of) calm and security to all delegates during the session,” he remarked.

A meeting of senior officials was held on the first day of the “Bali Process,” the results of which will be delivered at the ministerial meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

Involving privets sectors

The Bali Process conference was established in 2002 by Indonesia and Australia, with as many as 45 member countries and three international organizations: the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime.

The Bali Process meeting, held this time in Nusa Dua, Bali, will discuss the issue of people smuggling, human trafficking, and transnational crimes.

According to Foreign Minister Marsudi, the Bali Process this time will not only involve the governments but also private sectors. . (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)