INDONESIA'S FIRST WOMAN FOREIGN MINISTER PREPARED TO IMPLEMENT JOKOWI'S VISION by Fardah

   Jakarta, Oct 28, 2014 (Antara) -- The new Indonesian president, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, opened a new page in the nation's history by appointing career diplomat Retno LP Marsudi as the country's first ever female foreign affairs minister.

         "She (Retno Marsudi) is a career diplomat. Hard working, firm and a visionary, she is the first woman foreign minister in our history," President Jokowi said while introducing members of his Working Cabinet for the 2014-2019 period in Jakarta on Sunday (October 26).

         Marsudi, who succeeded former foreign affairs minister Marty Natalegawa, expressed her readiness to work in line with the vision of Jokowi, who told his ministers in the first cabinet meeting earlier that one of their tasks was to implement his vision.

         Only the president has a vision for the nation and his ministers must design programs to implement it, Jokowi, who was installed as Indonesia's seventh president on October 20, stated while chairing the first cabinet meeting on Monday (October 27).  
    "The president has his vision and mission called the Trisakti principles. These envision an Indonesia that is politically sovereign, economically independent and culturally distinct in character. Now, we are identifying how the foreign affairs sector can contribute to the Trisakti vision," Marsudi later told the press.

         She added that the ministry would formulate policies on foreign relations in line with these three pillars of the president's vision.

         The newly-installed minister also explained that diplomacy was meant to create opportunities, to build bridges among nations and do away with differences.

         Born in Semarang, Central Java, on November 27, 1962, Marsudi was the first Indonesian to receive a Medal of Merit from the King of Norway in 2011, during her term as the Indonesian Ambassador to the European nation.

         She studied at the University of Gajah Mada in Yogyakarta and has been part of the foreign affairs ministry since 1986. She was the director general of American and European Affairs from 2008 to 2012 and was the Indonesian Ambassador to the Netherlands later.

         Moreover, the new minister has to get to work immediately as President Jokowi has already been invited to at least three important summits scheduled for November.

         "The three summits are the APEC Summit in Beijing on November 10-11, the ASEAN Summit in Myanmar on November 12-13, and the G20 Summit in Australia on November 15-16," Marsudi noted.

         Twenty days before the end of his presidential tenure, the then Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reminded that the presence of the Indonesian leader in international meetings was crucial and strategic to uphold national interests.

         "Besides, it affirms the pivotal position of Indonesia, both at the regional and global levels," Yudhoyono pointed out during his visit to Washington DC on September 29.

         The former Indonesian head of state remarked that the country's role in international affairs was important and came second only to national duties as a nation's foreign policies was the continuation of its domestic policies.

         However, he emphasized that the Indonesian foreign minister should be selective and not necessarily attend all international meetings because several of them were held every year.

         "Even I must be selective in picking which international meetings to attend. For instance, it is not permissible for an Indonesian leader to skip the ASEAN summit or the APEC summit as the Bogor declaration is the spirit of the latter," Yudhoyono had pointed out.

         He also noted that besides participating in the ASEAN and APEC summits, the Indonesian foreign minister should also attend the G-20 Summit and meetings of the Organization of Islamic Conference.

         "I have been selective in deciding which international meetings to attend, but it will be up to the next president later," Yudhoyono added.
    The former president, who governed Indonesia for a decade from 2004 to 2014, was optimistic that Jokowi's government will be able to address many international issues, from economic ones to those of the radical ideologies of the Islamic State for Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

         "Our policy is clear: we do not allow the existence of radicalism, extremism and terrorism. We never mix Islam or any other religion with radicalism and terrorism," Yudhoyono affirmed.

         He further remarked that Indonesia will adopt the soft power line of action as a comprehensive approach, rather than use hard power to address the radical movement.

         In his last cabinet meeting on October 17, Yudhoyono said that Indonesia had been invited to play a bigger role internationally, particularly to strengthen ties between Islam and the West and ease the existing tensions.

         "During the discussions in New York (on September 24), Indonesia was urged to intensify its (international) role, including in easing tensions between Islam and the West," the former president Yudhoyono revealed.

         Indonesia was also expected to play a substantial part in addressing climate change and to contribute more significantly to the post-2015 MDG Development Agenda, he affirmed.

         Furthermore, Marsudi is one of the eight women in Jokowi's cabinet in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, which is also the world's third largest democracy after the U. S. and India.

         "We appreciate the appointment of eight women ministers in the cabinet," the Chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction in the House of Representatives (DPR), Jazuli Juwaini, said.

         He added that the presence of the eight "Srikandi" (the country's heroin) in President Joko Widodo's working cabinet indicated that in terms of performance, women were capable of competing against men.

         "Women must prove their professionalism and capabilities more, without necessarily neglecting the will of God as women," he remarked.

         The seven other female ministers in Jokowi's working cabinet are Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Susi Pudjiastuti, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Rini Soemarno, Minister of Forestry and Environmental Siti Nurbaya, Health Minister Nila F Moeloek, Minister of Social Affairs Khofifah Indar Parawansa, and Minister for Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Yohana Yembise.

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(T.SYS/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 28-10-2014 23:51:54