Foreign Minister Sugiono: Indonesia Is Ready To Contribute To The Postwar Gaza Reconstruction Efforts

Foreign Minister Sugiono while attending the LB OKI KTM in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Source: Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

JAKARTA - Foreign Minister Sugino stated that Indonesia's readiness to contribute to efforts to reconstruct the Gaza Strip, Palestine after war while speaking at the Extraordinary Ministerial Conference (KTM LB) of Islamic Cooperation Organizations (OKI) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Starting his statement, Foreign Minister Sugiono said Indonesia under the leadership of President Prabowo Subianto would continue to encourage various concrete efforts to ensure the Palestinian people get justice.

"Solidarity and unity for Palestine are a must. Palestinian issues must unite us, not divide us," said Foreign Minister Sugiono, in a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saturday, March 8.

On this occasion, Foreign Minister Sugiono proposed three important steps in responding to the urgent situation in Palestine.

First, the Foreign Minister conveyed the importance of continuing the ceasefire agreement. Foreign Minister Sugiono hopes that OKI countries and the international community can continue to pressure Israel to respect the agreement, as well as ensure the continuation of negotiations to the second phase.

"The availability of access to humanitarian aid is an important part of the First Phase of the Armistice Agreement. This should not be used as a bargaining position in negotiations for the second phase," said Foreign Minister Sugiono.

"Israel's decision to stop the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza is a gross violation of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law," he added.

Furthermore, Foreign Minister Sugiono invited OIC member countries to play a more role in restoring UNRWA (United Nations Jobs and Recovery Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East) and to support efforts to issue an international Court's administration of opinion on Israel, which is currently underway.

Second, regarding plans for the future (the day-after plan), particularly in efforts to restore and reconstruct Gaza, the Foreign Minister reiterated Indonesia's position of condemning and strongly rejecting all forms of forced transfer of Palestinians, under any pretext.

The Foreign Minister hopes that the OIC can play an important role in ensuring Palestinian reconstruction efforts are in accordance with the interests of the Palestinian people.

In this regard, the Foreign Minister expressed Indonesia's support for the Cairo Declaration which was just agreed upon by Arab countries in Cairo (Arab Summit) last Tuesday.

"Indonesia is ready to contribute to efforts to reconstruct Gaza, by collaborating closely with community organizations," said the Indonesian Foreign Minister.

He also conveyed Indonesia's readiness to place peacekeepers in Gaza, if there is a decision and mandate from the United Nations.

Finally, the Foreign Minister revealed the need to continue to strengthen efforts to realize the Two-National Solutions.

"I see that international support continues to flow for the Two-State Solution. We need to strengthen this effort in various international forums including at the United Nations, the OIC and the Arab League," said Foreign Minister Sugiono.

"We need to continue to urge UN DK so that they carry out their duties, and can produce resolutions for the implementation and realization of the Two-State Solution," added Foreign Minister Sugiono.

In addition to Palestinian issues, KTM LB OKI also discussed the current situation in Syria.

In her statement, the Foreign Minister conveyed that Indonesia fully supports the Syrian people in determining the direction of future Syrian development, which is democratic and inclusive, with the Syrian-led and Syrian-signed process.

The KTM LB OKI this time was attended by 46 OIC member countries, of which 27 were represented by foreign ministers such as from Saudi Arabia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey and Jordan. There were also state ministers from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The conference this time agreed on two resolutions, namely Resolutions on the Palestinian Situation which contained support for the Gaza reconstruction process, as well as Resolutions on the restoration of Syria's membership in the OKI, which had previously been frozen since 2012.