Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Strengthens Indonesian Citizen Protection System

Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi delivered the Annual Press Statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (PPTM 2024) at the Merdeka Building, Bandung, West Java, on Monday (8/1/2024). (ANTARA/Yashinta Difa)

BANDUNG - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to strengthen the protection system for Indonesian citizens (WNI) abroad as one of the diplomatic priorities carried out during President Joko Widodo's administration.

"Over the last nine years, the issue of protecting Indonesian citizens has always been placed as one of the priorities of foreign politics. The paradigm of ways of thinking and services has been changed significantly," said Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, January 8.

This was conveyed by Foreign Minister Retno in the 2024 Minister of Foreign Affairs' Annual Press Statement (PPTM) which was held at the Merdeka building, Bandung.

According to him, efforts to strengthen the legal instrument for protecting Indonesian citizens are carried out through the issuance of laws and regulations from the Minister of Foreign Affairs. A number of innovations are also being carried out to improve the protection services of Indonesian citizens.

In this case, said Retno, a comprehensive protective system has been built and strengthened, including by building an Indonesian Seafarer Corner specifically for Indonesian Indonesian crew members (ABK) in Cape Town, Montevideo, and Kaohsiung; strengthening the Indonesian Citizen Protection Legal Team in countries with a high concentration level of Indonesian citizens; draft contingency plans in countries that have conflict risk; and prioritize the protection curriculum of Indonesian citizens in diplomat education.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also carried out a number of digital innovations to protect Indonesian citizens, including building an SMS Blast system, the Indonesian Citizen Care Portal, and the TravelSafe mobile application," said Foreign Minister Retno.

PPTM 2024 has the theme 'Advancing Free and Active Foreign Policy: A Ten Year Journey.'

In this PPTM, Foreign Minister Retno conveyed Indonesia's diplomatic achievements in the last nine years and diplomatic priorities for the next almost one year.