Indonesia reaffirmed its commitment to continue to help the
struggle of the Palestinian people, through the provision of capacity building.
The Government of Indonesia has committed US $ 2 million in assistance to capacity
building programs, in accordance with the needs of the Palestinian people,
including agriculture, entrepreneurship, women's empowerment, information and
communication technology, governance and education.
The Indonesian commitment was conveyed by the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Retno Marsudi in the Conference
on Cooperation between East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development
(CEAPAD) III meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, June 27, 2018.
The US $ 2 million grant will be distributed in the framework
of the three-year Work Plan (2019-2021) CEAPAD, which is one of the outcomes of
CEAPAD III meeting or other modalities. The three-year CEAPAD program
specifically includes the proposed capacity building program in line with the
Palestinian needs and resources / capacities of the CEAPAD participating
countries.
The assistance is a continuation of the capacity building
assistance that continues to be provided by Indonesia to the Palestinian
people. So far, Indonesia has provided 169 capacity building programs,
involving nearly 2000 Palestinians.
Currently, Indonesia is preparing additional assistance in
the form of drugs and water desalination in Gaza.
In addition to strengthening capacity cooperation, in the
CEAPAD III meeting, Foreign Minister Retno also stressed the need for the
international community to provide incentives to the business sector.
"This incentive will encourage the establishment of an environment for
self-sustaining Palestinian economic growth." Indonesia has initiated a 0%
tariff for some Palestinian products by 2018.
Before the CEAPAD meeting began, on June 26, the Foreign
Minister held a Bilateral Meeting with the Palestinian Minister of Foreign
Affairs.
"The government and the people of Indonesia will
continue to fight until the Palestinian people gain their independence,"
said the Foreign Minister during a meeting with Palestinian Foreign Minister,
Riad Maliki (26/6).
Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riad Maliki expressed
appreciation and appreciation of the Palestinian people for Indonesia's
never-ending commitment to the struggle of the Palestinian people.
During the meeting, the two Ministers discussed the latest
situation in Gaza and explored the best possible option to push back the
process of future Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations. "Countries
outside the Region, especially Muslim-majority countries should be involved in
promoting the Palestinian-Israeli peace process," the Palestinian Foreign
Minister said.
In addition to meeting with Palestinian Foreign Minister, the
Foreign Minister also met with Commissioner of General United Nations Relief
and Works Agency (UNRWA), Pierre Krähenbühl (27/6). Foreign Minister Retno and
the Commissioner General discussed UNRWA's future steps and plans regarding the
financial crisis. Indonesia values UNRWA's role for Palestinian refugees
totaling more than 5.3 million.
Secretary of State Retno affirmed Indonesia's commitment to
assist UNRWA. "Indonesia's contribution has been enhanced to UNRWA,"
said Retno.
UNRWA's Commissioner General highly appreciates the
contribution and contribution that Indonesia continues to provide for
Palestine.
CEAPAD is a forum established since 2013 as a forum for East
Asian countries to help build the capacity of Palestine. Indonesia has hosted
CEAPAD II in Jakarta, 2014 and hosted and chaired a high-level CEAPAD meeting
in Jakarta on 31 May 2018 in preparation for the CEAPAD III meeting.
0 Comments