Indonesia ‘Will Ask Australia to Take more Refugees’

Jakarta, 11 Jumadil Akhir 1437/21 March 2016 (MINA) – Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi is expected to raise the issue of refugee intake when she meets her Australian counterpart Julie Bishop.

Ms Bishop is on an official visit to Indonesia from Sunday to Wednesday, Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) quoted bbc.com as reporting.

Reports say Jakarta wants Australia to increase its asylum-seeker resettlement quota.

In an interview with Fairfax, Indonesia’s Retno Marsudi also urged other nations to take more refugees.

“Of course there is hope from Indonesia not only to Australia but to every country to be more receptive to these migrants who have been waiting for resettlement,” Ms Marsudi said.

No asylum seekers are allowed to reach Australia’s territories by boat and those that do so are often turned back to Indonesia.

Refugees are also taken to detention facilities in neighbouring Pacific countries.

Asylum seekers often pay large sums to smugglers to travel to Australia by boat from Indonesia and hundreds have died making the dangerous journey. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)