Opening IAPF in Bali, Puan Mentioned RI-Africa's Long History Since KAA in President Sukarno's Era

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Puan Maharani (Dok DPR Photo)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, opened the Indonesia-Africa Parliamentary Forum (IAPF) event which was held in Bali. Puan mentioned the long history of Indonesia-Africa that has existed since the Asia Africa Conference (KAA) in Bandung in 1955.

The IAPF series will be held from 31 August to 2 September 2024 in Bali where the opening of the event this morning took place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Nusa Dua. Apart from Indonesia, this event was attended by parliamentary delegates from 20 countries in Africa, some of which were chaired directly by their parliamentary chairmen.

Some of the African countries that attended included Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burundi, Djibouti, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Libya, Mozambique, Somalia, and South Africa.

Through the IAPF, Puan said that Indonesia and African countries started new rounds and sheets. He then mentioned the implementation of KAA where Indonesia became one of its pioneer countries.

KAA, which was opened by the first President of the Republic of Indonesia, Sukarno, is a conference between Asian and African countries, most of whom have just gained independence. The meeting took place at the Merdeka Building, Bandung, with the aim of promoting Asian-African economic and cultural cooperation and against colonialism or neocolonialism. Unlike the implementation of KAA, Puan said the current conditions were different.

"If in 1955, the Government played a dominant role in encouraging Asia-Africa cooperation, currently, in 2024, Parliament is an important factor in encouraging cooperation between the two continents," explained Bung Karno's grandson.

"If in 1955, the government made an important decision, currently the government needs to consult with Parliament to carry out international cooperation," continued Puan.

According to the first woman to serve as Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives, building partnerships between Parliament means expanding African relations with Indonesia to be more inclusive. Not only that, Puan assessed that there was an increase in Indonesia-Africa relations by building partnerships between parliaments.

"This means that we also reach a wider relationship between the people, because Parliament is the people's representative," said Puan.

He added that Parliament can encourage and synergize with the Government in strengthening international cooperation. Especially, said Puan, between developing countries.

"To expand Africa's partnership with Indonesia, we need to respect the differences between us, and look for similarities," he said.

As the host, the House of Representatives has the theme Strengthening the Indonesian-African Parliamentary Partnership for Development at the IAPF meeting.

The Indonesia-Afrik Parliamentary Forum itself will consist of three discussion sessions that discuss important issues, including southern-south cooperation for sustainable prosperity and development, resilient community development through health and food security initiatives, as well as the use of trade and investment potentials for inclusive economic growth.

Puan also emphasized the importance of the Indonesian-African parliament mapping cooperation in the future for fields of common interest. Moreover, Africa already has an Agenda 2063: The Africa we Want.

This agenda is a blueprint for transforming Africa into the world's main strength in the future. Indonesia conveyed its readiness to become an African partner, with Indonesia's potential to become the 4th largest economy in the world in 2050," he said.

Puan considers African and Indonesian relations not only historical relations, but also about how to explore opportunities for cooperation in the future. For this reason, Puan emphasized that Indonesia-Africa must build relationships that are mutually beneficial, respect each other, respect each other for diversity, and based on equality.

"The relationship between equality means that there is no one party who wants to dominate this relationship. This is increasingly needed, when we live in a multipolar era that is facing various multidimensional global challenges," explained the former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture.

The various challenges that Puan is referring to include increasing geopolitical tensions, war and conflict, competition for major powers, global economic turmoil, and climate change.

"In the context of cooperation between parliaments, we must advance the value of democracy, respect human rights, and uphold the rule of law," said Puan.

"Therefore, I believe that this IAPF meeting must be able to provide added value in the relations between African countries and Indonesia. This added value will be achieved if Parliament can strengthen, and does not duplicate, cooperation between governments," he continued.

Puan stated that added value would be obtained if the IAPF cooperation contributed to realizing the aspirations of the people in Africa and Indonesia to enjoy a more peaceful and prosperous life. This is because various crises in the world have a direct impact on the people of Indonesia-Africa so that Parliament needs to be more active in contributing to solving various global problems.

"This includes that Parliament must encourage the creation of peace. I encourage us to reject the way of violence. We must prioritize dialogue and diplomacy in solving problems between countries," said Puan.

Puan said, war and conflict are policy choices taken by one country. So in a democratic country, she emphasized that Parliament plays a role in determining a country's policies whether to start a war or take a peaceful way.

"Including in this regard, we need to fight for full independence of Palestine, stop the war in Gaza, Ukraine, and various regions that are hit by war and conflict," said Puan.

"Similarly, it is an option, whether we will encourage mutually beneficial cooperation and not zero-sum approach, or strengthen multilateralism, and not carry out unilateral policies," he added.

On the other hand, Puan assessed that this inter-Parliamentary cooperation can also be a bridge for relations between the community or people-to-people contact between Africa and Indonesia. Of course, this is important because the position of parliament as the people's representative. The opening of the IAPF is enlivened by cultural performances, including the Nusantara dance medley. Also attending the opening ceremony of the IAPF, namely Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi as a representative of the Government. Then there is also the Acting Governor of Bali, SM Mahendra Jaya.

"This forum reflects the closeness of Indonesia and Africa, such as the spirit of the declaration of KAA Bandung," said Foreign Minister Retno when giving a speech.

The same thing was conveyed by the Speaker of the Zimbabwe Parliament, Jacob Mudenda as a representative of the African parliament. He also admitted that he was impressed by Indonesia's hospitality as the host of the IAPF conference.

"In particular, we would like to thank the Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Mrs. Puan Maharani. This forum revives the spirit of Bandung's declaration," said Jacob Mudenda.

Jacob Mudenda then expressed a number of hopes, including the cooperation between Indonesia and Africa in dealing with the monkey pox (Mpox) disease or monkeypox that is endemic in Africa.

"From implementing health protocols to procuring vaccines," he hoped.

For information, the IAPF was held continuously with the holding of the Indonesia-Africa or Indonesia-Africa Forum High Level Forum (FTT) held by the Indonesian Government at the same time in Bali. The event will be attended by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

FTT Indonesia-Africa is also held in conjunction with the Multi-Party Partnership High Level Forum (High-Level Forum on Multi Stakeholder Partnerships), which is a collaboration between the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu) and Bappenas. The total participants are estimated to reach 1,500 delegates from African countries and other Global South countries.