Minister Retno Presents 2019 Foreign Policy’s Achievement

Jakarta, MINA – The results of the work of implementing Indonesia’s foreign policy in 2019 were presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno LP Marsudi, in an annual press statement delivered in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Indonesia opened in 2019 with Indonesia’s membership in the UN Security Council. The membership will continue until the end of 2020. “Investing in peace” is the great spirit that underlies the work of Indonesia as a non-permanent member of the UNSC.

“During the past year, Indonesia invested a lot in the issues of women, peace, and security,” Retno said.

The economic field is also one of the priorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this case, by 2019 CEPA negotiations with Australia and EFTA had been completed. PTA negotiations with Mozambique, Indonesia’s first PTA on the African continent, have also been concluded. FTA negotiations with Chile, the first agreement in the Latin American and Caribbean regions, have also been concluded.

“Indonesia consistently establishes as much economic cooperation as possible based on the principle of mutual benefit, I repeat, based on the principle of mutual benefit. Trade and investment cooperation should be mutually beneficial, equitable, and not a zero-sum game, ” Retno said.

Not less important, at the initiative of Indonesia, on December 19, 2019, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a consensus resolution on the creative economy and established 2021 as the International Creative Economy Year, International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development.

And in humanitarian diplomacy, in December 2019, Indonesia handed over one Indonesian Hospital to the Government of Myanmar, the Indonesian community relief hospital located in Mrauk U, Rakhine State, Myanmar.

The Indonesian Hospital was built by involving residents from various religious and ethnic backgrounds and is expected to be able to get closer to the people of Rakhine State.

“The hospital is also expected to be able to help local community needs for inclusive health services,” she said.

In the security sector, 2019 was closed with the release of two Indonesian citizens held hostage in the Southern Philippines. In these five years, the Government has freed 45 Indonesian citizens who were taken hostage. At present, Indonesia is still trying to free one more Indonesian citizen who being held hostage.

“In the future, it is important for Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines to strengthen the prevention measures so that victims do not continue to fall. Trilateral cooperation, maintaining security in the waters of Sulu and its surroundings, is important to be improved, ” Retno explained.

Ending the annual press statement, Retno quoted President Soekarno’s statement “… Whoever wants pearls, must dare to plunge into the deep sea.”

“Diplomacy is no longer only dominated by the work of diplomats. Other stakeholders are also Indonesian diplomacy fighters. Let’s work hard together, for a developed, prosperous and dignified Indonesian nation, ” Retno concluded her speech. (T/RE1/P2)

Miraj News Agency (MINA)