INDONESIA'S BID FOR UNSC SEAT GAINS INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT by Fardah

Jakarta, July 24, 2017 (Antara) - Since the Indonesian government officially announced its bid for a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seat in September 2016, the country has received support from several countries, such as Turkey, Chile, Sierra Leone, and Angola.

        It was Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla who announced Indonesia's bid to be a non-permanent member of the UNSC for the 2019-2020 period while addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York last year.

        Indonesia has, so far, been a non-permanent member thrice during 1973-1974, 1995-1996, and 2007-2008 periods.

        In pursuing its bid in the election to be held in the UN Headquarters in June 2018, Indonesia is promoting the theme "A True Partner for World Peace," according to Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi.

        Peace is a prerequisite to development, Kalla noted, adding that Indonesia had learnt first-hand from the internal conflict and regional strife and a diversion away from development during the 1950s and 1960s.

        In line with its constitutional mandate, Indonesia is committed to fully participating in and contributing to the maintenance of world order based on freedom, lasting peace, and social justice.

        The Indonesian government has been consistently contributing to the efforts aimed at achieving the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter in maintaining international peace and security, particularly in light of the major dynamic changes taking place in the current global arena.

        The country accords high priority to the cause of the United Nations peacekeeping and has actively participated in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations since 1957.

        Currently, there are around 2,700 Indonesian military and police personnel participating in 10 United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and ranks ninth. Indonesia is keen to enhance its participation further by increasing the number of its personnel up to four thousand peacekeepers by 2019.

        In the field of disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, in the last two decades, Indonesia has been playing a pivotal role as the coordinator of the Non-Aligned Movement Working Group on Disarmament and facilitating several important and collaborative international initiatives to achieve a general and complete nuclear disarmament.

        Indonesia has highly lauded several countries that have expressed their support for its nomination.

        "Indonesia lauds Turkey's support for its candidacy in the UN Security Council nomination for 2019-2020," President Joko Widodo had noted in a joint press statement after a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White Palace in Ankara in early July this year. 
  Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi had asserted that Turkey has thrown its weight behind Indonesia's bid for the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) membership for the 2019-2020 term.

          "It is true that Turkey has expressed support to our bid for the UNSC (membership) for the 2019-2020 term," she noted in Ankara on July 5, 2017.

          Support from various countries, including Turkey, has raised Indonesia's optimism of securing the UNSC seat, she remarked.

         "Indonesia will only compete with Maldives. We are optimistic (about securing the UNSC seat). God willing, we will work hard," she pointed out.

          Marsudi said Indonesia has the potential to hold the post of the UNSC membership in view of the support from other countries.

          "I am optimistic (about securing the UNSC seat) in view of the support that I cannot mention one by one," she stated.

          She emphasized that the government will continue to work hard to ensure that the nation is elected as a UNSC member for the 2019-2020 term.

          "We hope the hard work will bear fruit. We will always seek support (to our bid for the UNSC membership) at each bilateral meeting not only at the foreign ministerial level but also at the presidential and technical ministerial levels. Hence, we will make all-out efforts," she added.

          Another support came from the Government of Chile. Indonesia had offered similar support to Chile during the 2014-2015 period.

         "I express my gratitude to Chile for its support to Indonesia's nomination for a membership of the UNSC  for the 2019-2020 period," President Jokowi  said during a joint press conference with President of Chile Veronica Michelle Bachelet at the Merdeka Palace, in Jakarta, in May 2017.

        Besides, Indonesia has also received a similar support from President of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma.

         Koroma conveyed his support while receiving Letters of Credence from Indonesian Ambassador to Dakar, Mansyur Pangeran, who is concurrently the Ambassador to Republic of Sierra Leone, at the State Palace of Sierra Leone in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, in mid July 2017. ***2***
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(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 24-07-2017