Cabinet Secretary to the Ambassadors: Disseminate the Results of Cabinet Meeting as Part of Promotion

Cabinet Secretary receives ambassadors in Cabinet Secretary’s meeting room on Thursday afternoon (18/2)

The Cabinet Secretary (Seskab), Pramono Anung, received 9 (nine) ambassadors who will be on duty according to their  placement in the Cabinet Secretary’s meeting room, at Building III of  the Ministry of the State Secretariat on Thursday (18/2) afternoon.

The nine Ambassadors received by Seskab are:

1. Drs. Husnan Bey Fananie, M.A., Indonesian Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan, residing in Baku;
2. Alexander Litaay, Indonesian Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia, residing in Zagreb;
3. Drs. Antonius Agus Sriyono, Indonesian Ambassador to the Holy See of Vatican, residing in Vatican;
4. Drs. Iwan Suyudhie Amri, Indonesian Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, residing in Islamabad;
5. Sri Astari Rasjid, Indonesian Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgari, accredited to the Republic of Albania and Republic of Macedonia, residing in Sofia;
6. Dra. Hj. Safira Machrusah, M.A., Indonesian Ambassador to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, residing in Algiers;
7. Drs. Diennaryati Tjokrosuprihatono, M.Si., Indonesian Ambassador to the Republic of Ecuador, residing in Quito;
8. Octavino Alimudin, S.H., LL.M., Indonesian Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran, accredited to Turkmenistan, residing in Tehran; and
9. Drs. Tito Dos Santos Baptista, Indonesian Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique, accredited to the Republic of Malawi, residing in Maputo.

In the occasion, Seskab conveyed several things that need to be known and understood by the ambassadors because each government has different style and policy.

“Ladies and Gentleman, you are now an emissary, an example, and also the representative of the President abroad. You surely should understand and know the characters of the President. It is expected that the ambassadors should understand what the basic need or expectation of the President is,” said Cabinet Secretary firmly.

The other messages of Seskab were as follows:

1. President said that 2016 is the year of work acceleration.  It is expected  that in 2016 the level of economic growth can be above 5.3.  Seskab also mentioned that President’s way of thinking is really out of the box;
2. There are 5 (five) main points which now become the priorities to be taken into account. The first is economic growth; the second is labor absorption; the third is poverty reduction; the fourth is inflation problem; and the fifth is the gini ratio (inequality);
3. The next era is the era of competition. President has conveyed this anywhere.
4. The World Bank has just released the ranks of ‘ease of doing business’. The rank [of Indonesia] is  now 109 of 189, and President has articulated [his expectation] that in 2017, Indonesia’s rank should be under 40;
5. The Ministry of Foreign Affair is responsible for coordinating every activity relating to diplomatic relations, trade, and investment.  However, President also assigned some ministers to be in charge in analyzing if there is any stagnancy, technical or non-technical problems without disturbing, overlapping and passing the authority had by the Minister of Foreign Affairs;
6. Currently, the Government is encouraging Foreign Direct Investment seriously;
7. The Government would establish a promotion agency uniting 17 ministries. There will be a new promotion agency formed to accomodate all institutions. Therefore, any overseas exhibition could be prepared thoroughly.
8. Until today, the Government has issued 10 policy packages. The principles of all the packages are bringing ease of access for investment and protecting investors.
9. The President was in Silicon Valley on that day visiting the headquarters of Google, Twitter, and Facebook. In the near future, it is expected that the decisions of cabinet meetings could be officially conveyed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Cabinet Secretariat. The ambassadors are also expected to disseminate the decisions to the international community as a part of promotion. It has been officially conveyed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs that all decisions of cabinet meetings should be immediately disseminated to all Indonesian embassies overseas.
   1. On 6-7 March 2016, Indonesia will be the host of the Extraordinary OIC Summit. There are two kinds of OIC Summits, the regular ones that is held once in three years and the extraordinary ones. The extraordinary OIC Summit, particularly, would be attended approximately by 56 heads of government including kings, 4 observers, 4 main partners which are the USA, Russia, China, and European Union. The main theme is on Al-Quds Al-Sharif;
   2. Recently the Government is mediating Iran-Saudi Arabia issue seriously; and
   3. The COP-21, which had just finished in Paris, has bound [Indonesia] as a country considered  undergoing development in the global economy. Indonesia is determined to reduce emissions up to 29%. Hopefully, with the help of the international world, the emissions could be reduced to 41% in 2030.

The ambassadors meeting with  Cabinet Secretary were inaugurated in the State Palace by President Joko Widodo in accordance to Presidential Decree Number 7/P of 2016. (DND/EN) (KAW/MT/LW)