Leaving The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs To Norway, Teuku Faizasyah Remembers The Period Of Handling COVID-19 To The G20 Presidency

Teuku Faizasyah. (Source: Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a laboratory that always provides learning opportunities with various challenges and problems, said Teuku Faizasyah.

Occupying the position of spokesman for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2019, Faizasyah was then appointed as Director General of Information and Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a year later. This is the second time he has held the position, having previously held a similar position in 2008, which at that time was called the Head of the Ministerial Administration Bureau.

Last month, Faizasyah was sworn in by President Joko Widodo as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Norway concurrently Iceland at the State Palace. For him, this trust is an opportunity to learn new things.

"For me personally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a very good laboratory. We have never faced the same problem. Every time there are issues that we have to deal with, face them, the new knowledge we get and others," he told VOI after a press statement in Jakarta some time ago.

"As now I want to go to Norway, the theme of the issue has shifted to environmental issues, green energy, so I also have to study this. My knowledge and mindset now have to learn a lot about green issues. Never stop to study at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he continued.

Thirty-three years of diplomatic career, Faizasyah faced many dynamics in his second term as a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where there was the COVID-19 pandemic and the G20 Presidency last year.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, Faizasyah recalled that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was tasked with building international trust that Indonesia could overcome problems related to COVID-19. Because, at that time there was a lot of news outside that was not balanced enough, seeing Indonesia from one side.

"Because we have once (cases) of COVID-19, (when the variant) Delta yes. That's where the President asked for a special forum, a briefing by Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi at the palace. Every week we manage the meeting. Foreign Minister as the main spokesman, presents other ministers plus health experts. So it is true that during the pandemic, his message must continue to convey the government's readiness to overcome the pandemic, build trust," recalled Faizasyah.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is focused on handling the pandemic problem and opening access to how to get vaccines, how to find export opportunities, investment, it's all the focus of our police," he said, adding that another focus on issues during the pandemic was the repatriation of Indonesian citizens, procurement of medical aids and COVID-19 vaccines.

The Acehnese-born man Bandung said that during the pandemic, the spirit of cooperation between countries was very high, to find solutions together as well as meet the health needs of his people.

"There Indonesia's role appears, we are not selfish because we also want to find solutions for countries that are slumped like in Africa. We carry out international roles. That is appreciated by many countries. Indonesia can lead, the Foreign Minister as the Joint Chair of COVAX AMC (the global mechanism for the distribution of free COVID-19 vaccines). We can do something, our leadership is appreciated," said the man who had been the spokesman for the Presidential Decree of the Republic of Indonesia for Foreign Affairs during the era of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"Talking about international cooperative relations, the aspect of acceptance is very important to be accepted by all parties. Indonesia can be accepted everywhere because we are considered to be part of the solution," he said.

When Indonesia held the G20 Presidency, the Russian-Ukraine conflict broke out in line with the Moscow invasion in February 2022. Faizasyah recalled that President Jokowi, supported by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and other ministers, arranged communication strategies at various levels, maintained to be the same and not different.

"We do not open space for other countries to make this forum a competition fore between groups. We as hosts want this G20 to be remembered as its G20 achievement, not a forum that broke out due to competition between the United States and Russia," he explained.

It is known, as the President of the G20, Indonesia is trying to keep the forum unchanged, in the midst of the spotlight related to the war in Ukraine, and Russia as a member of the G20.

He said, emphasizing active free foreign politics, Indoneisa can be friendly with everyone.

"With Russia remains friendly, with the US, with Ukraine with others. This means that we are not looking for enemies and have no enemies," he said.

Occupying a strategic position related to the international community, the owner of the Ph.D. degree from the University of Waikoto prioritizes the delivery of messages, instead of the way of delivering them.

"It doesn't have to be a loud tone or something, the important thing is that the substance is conveyed," he said.

Regarding the way of communication on foreign diplomacy, Faizasyah said, Indonesia will not be the first to comment on developments in other countries, before we know the facts, before the issue is really being investigated and see what their relationship with national interests is.

"We don't like other countries commenting on Indonesia. For example, there is something in the country, we consider the dynamics of democracy, we are in the process. Suddenly there is another country spokesman commenting on our domestic problems, for example yes, of course we also don't like it. We see that from the perspective that we don't like other countries to comment too much on the contents of our country's stomach, why do we do the same with other countries," he explained.

His appointment as Ambassador in Norway extended his list of foreign assignments. Since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1990, he has served various assignments abroad, from the United States, South Africa, to the Ambassador to Canada and the Indonesian Permanent Representative for ICAO in 2014-2018.

According to him, being a diplomat is not 'wah' as seen by ordinary people from outside, reflecting on his career from the beginning until now, including about salaries that use foreign currency.

"The experience of my career from below, I can measure difficult times, not always easy. If you say, 'oh, the salary is dollars', but we still live costs that are in accordance with the country where we work," he said.

"In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the term is ManTab, yes, eat savings. So if we go abroad, we get overseas allowances, save it. When we return to Jakarta, we live with these savings for future assignments. This means that overseas allowances are sufficient to live and save," he said.

He added that he did not always serve in developed countries, West countries were the best. According to him, the experience of serving in challenging countries also triggers adapting and learning many things.

He also feels lucky to have had the experience of occupying the position of a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs twice, gaining access to information that no one can have.

"You can get various information, get knowledge that may not all get that information, because we are required to be a generalist. You can know a lot of information and can measure, sort out what information can be conveyed to the public, what can only be a background, but can be used on other occasions to explain it as an off the record. I think that's a typical experience, yes, specifically yes, and not all career diplomats have the opportunity to get this experience, meaning one opportunity that should be grateful for," he concluded.