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nternational relations experts have lambasted President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo for appointing a number of Cabinet ministers as liaison officers between Indonesia and its major trading partners, arguing that such extra assignments create overlaps with the current system.

Mangadar Situmorang, an international relations scholar, said it would be more workable if the President provided more authority for Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi to coordinate related agencies and ministries to attract more foreign investment.

The rector of Bandung-based Pa-rahyangan University said the President'€™s decision would not help overcome the existing severe bottlenecks in infrastructure and related areas.

Mangadar also pointed out that Jokowi'€™s decision was not a reflection of his dissatisfaction with the Foreign Ministry under Retno'€™s leadership.

'€œAs far as I know the demands on Retno, in terms of economic and investment issues, is not very strong. Retno herself is quite good at managing issues of security, multilateral affairs and the protection of Indonesian citizens,'€ Mangadar said on Wednesday.

On Monday, the President delegated 12 ministers the additional task of following up economic partnerships and investment plans within respective countries.

Former Indonesian ambassador to Switzerland, Djoko Susilo, described President Jokowi'€™s instructions as '€œunreasonable'€ and argued that the plan was bound to face technical difficulties.

According to him, the new arrangement of bringing in ministers not privy to the nuances of foreign diplomacy will end up complicating the flow and coordination of bilateral relations.

'€œWe know that coordination among ministries and government agencies within the country remains a challenging task, especially when different institutions issue overlapping policies,'€ Djoko told The Jakarta Post.

Charles Honoris, a member of the House of Representatives'€™ Commission I overseeing foreign affairs, said he agreed with Djoko'€™s sentiments, and urged the President to instead optimize the existing diplomatic infrastructure.

'€œIf, for instance, the President is not satisfied with the work of the foreign minister, he just needs to replace her,'€ Charles said.

Dinna Wisnu, an international relations expert from Paramadina University, criticized the President'€™s decision as a reflection of his poor understanding of how international relations should be conducted in accordance with the 1999 Foreign Relations Law.

'€œWhile I understand that the President'€™s desire to accelerate investment projects, re-assigning the jobs of liaising with other countries to many ministers is a poor decision,'€ Dinna said.

Dinna took issue with Jokowi'€™s apparent oversimplification of the Foreign Ministry'€™s consultation and coordination functions as mere '€œnegotiation matters.'€

'€œA country'€™s decision to invest or not to invest is not just a matter of technical negotiations; it is a strategic decision, one that must be managed well with sufficient trust and authority from the Foreign Ministry,'€ she explained.

Separately, Retno said the President'€™s decision would not get in the way of the Foreign Ministry'€™s duties.

The minister acknowledged that investment bottlenecks often occurred due to the fact that such issues were only being handled by a few government agencies.

'€œThere are many investment plans that end up being difficult to realize due to a number of issues on our side. In light of this, the President has instructed that individual ministers be responsible for guaranteeing these investments,'€ Retno explained.
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