Press Statement of President of the Republic of Indonesia after Bilateral Meeting between Indonesia – Palestine at Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java Province, October 24, 2022

President Joko Widodo

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

His Excellency Prime Minister Shtayyeh,

Ahlan wa sahlan, welcome to Jakarta, welcome to Indonesia.

This is the first official visit of His Excellency Shtayyeh to Indonesia as Prime Minister. Indonesia and Palestine are close friends. Palestine was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Indonesia. We consistently continue to support the struggle of the Palestinian people

During the meeting, we discussed several issues.

First, the unity and struggle of the Palestinian people. The world is currently facing extraordinary challenges, while the old challenges remain, namely the settlement of the Palestinian issue, which has not yet been successfully resolved in a peaceful and just manner.

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

Second is related to economic cooperation. I am pleased to learn that the value of trade cooperation between our two countries continues to show an increase. In January-July 2022, the figure increased 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 enhanced in the future.

Third, Indonesia is committed to providing humanitarian assistance and capacity building. An MoU of the Indonesian Government on new grant agreement for Palestine was signed a few days ago. Moreover, 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.

In addition to providing humanitarian assistance, Indonesia also provides capacity building assistance to prepare an independent Palestinian state. In recent years, Indonesia has provided training to more than 2,000 Palestinians. Today, we signed an 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.

Let me once again reiterate Indonesia’s commitment to continue supporting the struggle for Palestinian independence. Thank you and I welcome His Excellency Prime Minister Shtayyeh to deliver his statement. (EST/EP)