Palestinian PM Shtayyeh Pays State Visit to Indonesia

BOGOR, KOMPAS.com - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo received a state visit from Palestinian Prime Minister (PM) Mohammad IM Shtayyeh at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, near Jakarta on Monday, Oct. 24.

PM Shtayyeh, along with a limited delegation, arrived at the Bogor Palace at around 10:30 local time accompanied by Nusantara troops, cavalry, and the musical corps of the Presidential Security Forces.

After being greeted by President Jokowi, the welcoming procession continued with an official welcoming ceremony with the sounding of the national anthems of the two countries and accompanied by the sound of cannons 19 times. After the cannon blast, the two leaders inspected the troops of honor.

Jokowi and Shtayyeh introduced each of the delegates, who attended the ceremony.

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The delegation from Indonesia comprised Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan, Head of the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) Penny K. Lukito, and Director General of Asia Pacific and Africa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdul Qadir Jaelani.

Jokowi then urged Shtayyeh to take a group photo and sign the state guest book at the Lotus Room, Bogor Palace.

The series of events continued with the joint planting of Meranti Bunga or Shorea leprosula trees by Jokowi and Shtayyeh in the courtyard next to the Bogor Presidential Palace. After planting trees together, the two leaders of the countries headed to the veranda for a brief conversation before holding a bilateral meeting with their respective delegations.

The two leaders also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and gave a joint press statement in the Lotus Room. The series of official welcomes ended with a state lunch at the Garuda Room.

Jokowi affirmed that the Indonesian government would continue to support Palestine to become an independent state, provide economic and humanitarian assistance.

"In addition to humanitarian assistance, Indonesia provides capacity-building assistance to prepare for Palestine's independence," Jokowi said during a joint press conference with his Palestinian counterpart.

In the economic cooperation, Jokowi said that trade between both nations continued to increase from January to July 2022, with a growth of 21.28 percent recorded as compared to the corresponding period in 2021.

"Indonesia has provided unilateral facilities in the form of exemption from import duties for dates and olives from Palestine to Indonesia. The facilities will be applied for other products from Palestine," he said.

The president noted that the facilities were a form of support from Indonesia to Palestine while expressing optimism that the economic cooperation would continue to be improved in the future.

"Assistance to Palestine does not only come from the government but also civil society. Currently, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) is in the process of building an Indonesian hospital in Hebron, Palestine," the head of state said.

Palestine is the only country participating in the 1955 Asian-African Conference that has yet to gain independence due to the Israeli occupation. Bilaterally, Palestine continues to seek recognition from various countries. As of September 14, 2015, some 136 countries from the 193 UN members have recognized Palestine as a state.

Also read: Indonesia FM to Non-Aligned Movement: ‘We All Still Owe Palestine Independence’

The international community continues to push for a peaceful solution between Palestine and Israel based on the principle of a two-state solution, as mandated in various resolutions of the General Assembly and the UN Security Council.

However, various challenges are getting in the way of the peace process between the two, such as the United States' decision on December 6, 2017, to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and followed by the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018.

Indonesia has consistently voiced the rights of the Palestinian people, including encouraging the establishment of a Palestinian state under the principle of a two-state solution, including in the implementation of the 60th Anniversary of the Asian African Conference ( AAC) in April 2015.

In the commemoration, the Declaration on Palestine was agreed to underline the support of Asian and African countries for the Palestinian struggle for independence and efforts to create a two-state solution.

Indonesia also assisted in the form of training and capacity building for 1,257 Palestinians in the fields of infrastructure, technology, information, tourism, light manufacturing, and agriculture worth $1.5 million for Palestinians under the framework of the Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD) as well as the assistance of 20 billion Indonesia Rupiahs ($1.3 million) for construction of the Indonesian Cardiac Center at the As-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

Source: State News Antara