G20 Chair Indonesia Should Promote Universal Values of Global Trade, Human Rights

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - As the world was slowly recovering from the collapse triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war broke out. It is quite challenging for Indonesia to host G20 this year.

In the mid of uncertainty, Indonesia holds various G20 meetings, online and offline. Some leaders of the world’s major economies even made their statements to exclude Russia from the G20 following its conflict with Ukraine.

State Secretary at the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry Martin Klus sat down with Kompas Go to share his views on Indonesia’s G20 presidency and other issues on Wednesday, April 20. Klus is on a three-day official visit to Indonesia from April 20-23. Slovakia is a member of the NATO and the European Union (EU), which the latter is part of the G20.

The following are excerpts from Kompas Go’s exclusive interview with the Slovak Deputy Foreign Minister:

Also read: Indonesia Keen on Bolstering Defense, Economic Ties with Slovakia

Question: What is the purpose of your visit and what is your expectation from your meetings here?

Answer: Expectations are always very high and I look forward to the meetings. We have a very good relationship with the Embassy of Indonesia in Bratislava. I have to say that the relationship makes the people-to-people contacts more fruitful as some Indonesian students come to Bratislava and vice versa.

The meetings are expected to cover not only economic cooperation between Slovakia and Indonesia but also the European Union and the Southeast Asian countries. There are rooms to improve and we can help each other bilateral way. The security issue is also an important topic because this is becoming a very concrete problem in our region following the Ukraine-Russia war. Besides, we are very concerned with what is happening in this region, including contested territory or maritime zone issues. Hopefully, we will find ways to help each other, especially with international organizations. And last but not least, this is the right time to speak about the common values because we believe in peace, we believe in democracy, and we believe in multilateralism. It is important for both countries.

Question: Who will you meet in Indonesia?

Answer: I will meet the deputy minister of Foreign Affairs and my colleague in the parliament because I’m also from the parliament. It would be fantastic to visit them to know how parliamentarians follow the situation and their concerns and point of view.