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President Jokowi satisfied with inauguration of RI honorary consulate in Ramallah, says minister

In solidarity: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (center) shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (left), witnessed by Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) secretary-general Iyad bin Amin Madani, after they delivered a press statement on the organizing of the fifth Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Extraordinary Summit on Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif in Jakarta on March 7

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Tue, March 15, 2016

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President Jokowi satisfied with inauguration of RI honorary consulate in Ramallah, says minister

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span class="inline inline-center">In solidarity: President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo (center) shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (left), witnessed by Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) secretary-general Iyad bin Amin Madani, after they delivered a press statement on the organizing of the fifth Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Extraordinary Summit on Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif in Jakarta on March 7. (ANTARA FOTO/OIC-ES2016/Wisnu Widiantoro)

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said on Tuesday that her mission to inaugurate the Indonesian honorary consulate for Palestine in Ramallah went smoothly.

'€œThe mission is accomplished. It'€™s done. Regardless of Israel'€™s decision not to allow me to enter Ramallah, the inauguration of the Indonesian honorary consulate in Ramallah was conducted in our embassy in Amman, Jordan,'€ said Retno as quoted by Antara at the State Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Israeli authorities prohibited Retno and an Indonesian delegation from entering Palestinian territory on Sunday. The foreign minister and her entourage were scheduled to carry out an official visit to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riyadh Maliki, and to inaugurate the Indonesian honorary consulate in Palestine.

However, Israeli authorities refused to grant the minister permission enter Ramallah.

'€œThis was something we anticipated. We received information that Israel refused to issue us a permit at almost midnight on Saturday and on Sunday morning we communicated with authorities in Ramallah, both with our honorary consul and the Palestinian foreign minister,'€ said Retno.

Following the consultation, she further said, the government decided to inaugurate the first Indonesian honorary consul for Palestine, Maha Abu-Shuseh, at the Indonesian Embassy in Amman, Jordan, a decision the minister said was '€œmost appropriate'€.

'€œWe tried to ensure that our activities could be carried out with issue before we departed to inaugurate [the honorary consul] because the mission I received from the President was to inaugurate the honorary consul,'€ said Retno.

The minister said that the Palestinian foreign minister attended the event by traveling via land routes from Ramallah to Amman.

Retno said the Foreign Ministry, on behalf of the Indonesian government, did not need to have talks with Israel regarding the inauguration of the Indonesian honorary consulate for Palestine in Ramallah because this was an Indonesia-Palestine affair.

'€œAll efforts to prevent me to reach Ramallah were not successful because the inauguration was still conducted with the attendance of the Palestinian foreign minister. It'€™s a good achievement in our foreign policy,'€ said Retno. (ebf)

 

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