Jokowi Again Not Present At The UN General Assembly, This Is The Explanation Of Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi

Screenshot of Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi when delivering an online press statement regarding her activities during the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, USA/ANTARA

JAKARTA - Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized that Indonesia still considers the UN General Assembly to be important and relevant even though it was not attended by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). "“Relevant, it is very relevant &helip; because this is where we are working on an international decision process," Retno said when delivering an online press statement about her activities during the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, USA, on Saturday, quoted via Antara, Sunday, September 24. Retno then explained that Indonesia had never been absent from various international forums, including at the United Nations. “ We are never absent. In fact, we are very active in various forums, including at the United Nations,” said Retno, without explaining the reasons for President Jokowi's absence. Jokowi has never been present in person at the UN General Assembly since serving as president of Indonesia in 2014. The Head of State of the Republic of Indonesia always sends representatives to speak before the leaders of the country at the UN high-level meeting. Jokowi has only attended the online UN General Assembly twice, namely in 2020 and 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When he first participated in the UN General Assembly in 2020, Jokowi was present virtually and delivered a speech in Indonesian. Meanwhile, in the first period of his government, namely 2014-2019, Jokowi always sent Vice President Jusuf Kalla to lead the Indonesian delegation at the UN General Assembly Session.

Jusuf Kalla always uses English in every international forum including in a speech at the UN General Assembly. The same thing was also done by the 6th President of the Republic of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who always attended the UN General Assembly directly.