President Jokowi Reiterates Commitment to Support Palestinian Independence

President Jokowi delivers press statement after meeting PM Mohammad I.M. Shtayyeh at the Bogor Palace, West Java province, Monday (10/24). (Photo: Oji/PR)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has once again reinforced Indonesia’s commitment to continue supporting the Palestinian struggle for independence.

“Once again I’d like to  reiterate Indonesia’s commitment to continue supporting the Palestinian independence struggle,” the President said in a press statement after meeting with Prime Minister of Palestine Mohammad I.M. Shtayyeh at Bogor Presidential Palace in West Java province, Monday (10/24).

On that occasion, the two leaders also discussed a number of issues, one of which was related to unity and struggle of the Palestinian people.

According to President Jokowi, international support for the Palestinian cause needs to be fostered.

“Let me stress the importance of unity among the Palestinian people. Indonesian history shows that unity of Indonesian people brought the country to achieve her independence. Therefore, the reconciliation process needs to be encouraged and Indonesia is ready to facilitate the reconciliation of factions in Palestine. Let me also convey Indonesia’s support for Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations,” he said.

President Jokowi also underscored Indonesia’s commitment to providing humanitarian assistance and capacity building, adding that the MoU of the Indonesian Government on new grant agreement for Palestine was signed a few days ago.

“Indonesia is in the process of distributing aid to Palestine through the UNRWA and the ICRC. Assistance to Palestine is not only from the Government, but also from the civil society. Currently, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) is in the process of building an Indonesian hospital in the city of Hebron in Palestine,” the President said.

In addition to providing humanitarian assistance, the President continued, Indonesia also provides capacity building assistance to prepare an independent Palestinian state, adding that in recent years, Indonesia has provided training to more than 2,000 Palestinians.

“Today, we signed a MoU on capacity building to support the establishment of an independent drug and food authority in Palestine. In the future, we will continue to provide capacity building assistance, including for MSMEs, e-commerce, and disaster management,” added the President.

On economic cooperation, the President pointed out that the value of trade cooperation between the two countries continues to show an increase, with figure in the period of January-July 2022 reporting an increase of 21.28 percent compared to that in last year.

“Indonesia has provided unilateral facilities in the form of import duties exemption for dates and olives from Palestine to Indonesia, and it will be continued later for other products from Palestine. This is another form of Indonesia’s support for Palestine, and Indonesia hopes that economic cooperation can continue to be stronger in the future,” said Jokowi.

Meanwhile, PM Shtayyeh expressed appreciation for the signing of the cooperation agreement between the two countries as a form of real support for Palestine from Indonesia.

He also expressed hope that Indonesia can achieve success in convening the G20 Summit in November.

“Our prayer with Indonesia so the country can successfully hold the G20 Summit and we hope that Indonesia can convey a message of support to Palestine at the G20 forum,” PM Shtayyeh remarked.

For the record, the official visit of the Palestinian PM to Indonesia is his first official visit as prime minister. (DND/AIT/UN) (EST/EP)