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Foreign minister to inaugurate honorary consulate in Ramallah
Maha Abu-Shusheh (Courtesy of alsafeernews
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Maha Abu-Shusheh (Courtesy of alsafeernews.com)
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi will travel to Ramallah, Palestine on Mar. 13 to inaugurate the Indonesian honorary consulate and Maha Abu-Shusheh as consul.
Minister Retno will also conduct bilateral meetings with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said on Thursday.
Retno's main purpose for the visit is to inaugurate the honorary consulate and consul, who has been appointed by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Arrmanatha added.
During his opening statement at the recent Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Summit, the President announced that the Palestinian businesswoman Abu-Shusheh will head the consulate.
"She is a very accomplished businesswoman in Palestine and has been named among the Top 50 most influential businesswomen in the Middle East by Forbes Arabia," Arrmanatha told reporters during a press conference in Jakarta.
He reinstated that the diplomatic representative's presence in Palestine was a form of political support from Indonesia for a two-state solution with Israel.
Arrmanatha said Abu-Shusheh will lead efforts in strengthening economic and social relations between Indonesia and Palestine, including in the protection of Indonesians abroad.
He said though there were not many Indonesians living in Palestine, with only eight people officially listed, around 50,000 Indonesians visited the region every year.
Arrmanatha said that the consulate will also aim to strengthen economic relations between the two countries. Indonesian and Palestinian trade in 2015 stood at US$ 3.67 million, with Indonesia recording a surplus of $3.34 million, he added, a rise from 2014 with recorded trade worth $1.02 million and a surplus of $808,000.
The spokesman also noted that Retno will be in Ramallah following an official working visit to Jordan the previous day.
Born in 1962 in Ramallah, Abu-Shusheh is also president of the board of directors of the Palestinian Association for the Preservation of Architectural Heritage (Riwaq) and chairwoman of the Palestinian Shippers Council, which represents Palestinian importers and exporters, as well as a member of Palestinian Trade Center. (bbn)(+)
