UN Secretary General Antonio Praises Indonesia in Handling Disasters

Nusa Dua, Info Publik – UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a bilateral meeting with President Joko Widodo praised Indonesia in handling disasters, particularly the recent disasters that hit Poso and Donggala, Central Sulawesi, and Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met with President Joko Widodo in Citra Hall, The Laguna Resort & Spa Nusa Dua Hotel, Badung Regency, on Thursday (11/10). Former Portugal Prime Minister arrived at around 08:25 local time in Laguna Hotel wearing long sleeve batik and was welcomed by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

As reported by Antara news agency, President Joko Widodo and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres discussed several issues including disasters in Central Sulawesi and issues on Palestine.

After the meeting, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in her statement said that UN Secretary General expressed his deep condolences to the victims of earthquake and tsunami in Palu and Donggala, Central Sulawesi and Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara and praised the Government of Indonesia for the prompt response related to the disaster relief.

“UN Secretary General said that Indonesian people have high resilience and also praised the Government’s prompt response, adding that it is always uneasy to take actions during the hardship,” Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said.

Regarding global peace issue, UN Secretary General also praised Indonesia for the role it has played concerning the Palestinian cause.

In addition, Indonesia is deemed a vital partner for the UN in creating world peace and the largest contributing country for the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces.

“Indonesia plays an active role in creating world peace and prosperity. The partnership between Indonesia and the UN is excellent,” Retno Marsudi said.

Regarding Indonesia’s diplomacy to address issue in Rakhine State, Myanmar, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres considered that Indonesia is the right country to resolve the issues properly and keep contributing amid the hardship.

“UN Secretary General said that the measure Indonesia has taken is deemed proper so that Indonesia can give its contribution amid this hardship. We continue to encourage the progress, but we are convinced that Indonesia can continue to contribute in an effort to resolve issues in Rakhine State,” Retno Marsudi said.

In a meeting, President Joko Widodo was accompanied by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung. (Gusti Andry/Translator: Muhardi)