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FM Retno set to visit Ramallah, inaugurate honorary consul
Retno LP Marsudi - JP/Dhony SetiawanForeign Minister Retno LP Marsudi is set to travel to Ramallah this weekend to inaugurate an honorary consul in Palestine, fulfilling Indonesiaâs commitment to create better relations and deliver unwavering support for the Palestiniansâ struggle for independence
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Retno LP Marsudi - JP/Dhony Setiawan
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi is set to travel to Ramallah this weekend to inaugurate an honorary consul in Palestine, fulfilling Indonesia's commitment to create better relations and deliver unwavering support for the Palestinians' struggle for independence.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said Retno was scheduled to visit Jordan to discuss a number of bilateral issues on Saturday and would head straight to Palestine to inaugurate the new consul the next day.
President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, who chose the Palestinian issue as a major plank of his foreign policy platform for his 2014 presidential election campaign, has repeatedly promised to open an Indonesian office in Ramallah in support of Palestinian independence. The plan, which was considered by his predecessors as well, is expected to finally materialize on March 13 during Retno's visit to Ramallah.
Jokowi ' in his opening statement during the fifth extraordinary Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit held in Jakarta earlier this week ' announced Maha Abou Susheh, a Palestinian, as the honorary consul.
Susheh's main duty is expected to be to implement efforts to enhance economic, social and cultural cooperation, as well as to maintain the climate for investments and tourism between Indonesia and Palestine and also to give protection to Indonesian citizens when needed.
'[Susheh] is a renowned businesswomen, having been mentioned in the Arabian Forbes as one of the most influential figures in the region and has chaired the Palestinian business forum,' Arrmanatha said.
Other names were recommended by local authorities and applications were sent to the Indonesian government before Susheh was chosen to represent Indonesia in Ramallah.
Although not many Indonesians have been residing in Palestine, it is estimated that 50,000 Indonesians travel to the country as tourists every year.
Indonesia has hopes Retno's trip would be successful. An attempt to reach Ramallah by an Indonesian minister failed in 2012 when the then foreign minister Marty Natalegawa was refused entry by Israel as the occupying power in the territory.
Along with 12 members of the Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Committee on Palestine, such as Malaysia, Cuba and Bangladesh, Marty was denied entry as Israel refused to issue passes for countries with which it did not have diplomatic relations and that did not acknowledged it as a country.
This time, Arrmanatha said, his ministry hoped for a successful visit, saying that the visit has been thoroughly planned and coordinated with Palestine and Jordan.
When asked by The Jakarta Post whether the ministry had got a green light from Israel for the visit, Arrmanatha did not clearly specify, only saying that: 'It has been planned and coordinated with all relevant parties, meaning that there is a plan that makes it possible to enter [Ramallah].'
Indonesia has no diplomatic ties with Israel, despite having trade and tourism contacts with the country.
As a Muslim-majority country and a founding member of the anticolonialism forum, the Asian-African Conference, Indonesia ' with strong public bias toward the Middle East country ' has consistently maintained support for Palestine's independence.
Indonesia currently has an embassy for Palestine installed in Amman, Jordan. It was established in 1989 when the two countries signed a joint statement a year after Palestine declared its independence.
