President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, while he is on a state trip to Bangladesh on Jan
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, while he is on a state trip to Bangladesh on Jan. 27 and 28, plans to visit a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazaar and meet with Rohingya who had fled from violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
Jokowi will also, according to Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, bring the promise of new Indonesian aid for the refugees.
Retno said humanitarian issues were among the main concerns of the President’s upcoming visit to several South and Central Asia.
She said Indonesia had to strengthen peace in the region as it was the country’s role to spread the “value of peace.”
“We will offer aid according to their [the Bangladeshi government’s] interest. Everything we will deploy will be according to what they want as we continue to coordinate with the government there,” she said on Monday.
The Foreign Ministry’s director for South and Central Asian affairs, Ferdy Piay said Jokowi would visit Cox’s Bazaar after meeting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He said Jokowi would emphasize that Bangladesh and Myanmar had to ensure the safety of the refugees during repatriation.
“Indonesia has repeatedly said that repatriation is not just a matter of returning refugees to their homes, but also to ensure the safety of the lives of refugees in the future,” he said.
Indonesia previously send aid in September worth Rp 75 billion (US$5.63 million).
According to UNICEF, by January there were about 975,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
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