Bali Declaration proof of world’s trust in Indonesia

Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati (second right) and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, look on as President Joko Widodo (center) officially closes the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali  (ANTARA FOTO/G20 Media Center Indonesia/Zabur Karuru/wsj)

BALI:  The approval of the Bali Leaders’ Declaration by the G20 leaders has demonstrated the world’s trust in Indonesia, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi has said.

“We should be grateful that all G20 member countries have trust in Indonesia so that in the end, the declaration can be agreed upon,” she said at a press conference following the culmination of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Wednesday.

The process of reaching an agreement on the declaration was very long and involved several rounds of negotiations, she informed. The final negotiations were carried out from November 10 to 14, 2022, that is, up till one day before the G20 Summit.

Marsudi further revealed that at the beginning of Indonesia’s G20 presidency, many parties were pessimistic about Indonesia producing a declaration considering the difficult global situation, which was triggered by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and made worse by the war between Russia and Ukraine, the food and energy crisis, as well as the financial crisis.

“So, this is an extraordinary effort; by using diplomacy assets that have been around for a long time, Indonesia is trying to bridge all the differences that exist (among the G20 members),” she said.

The Bali Declaration produced by the G20 under the Indonesian presidency comprises 52 paragraphs.

Among the dozens of paragraphs, the one that was debated the most by the members was related to the G20’s response to the war in Ukraine. In the end, the leaders agreed to condemn the war that was triggered by a violation of the territorial boundaries or territorial integrity of a country.

Regarding the declaration of position, Marsudi said that Indonesia has adhered to the principles of its free and active foreign policy, namely freedom in making decisions and expressing opinions and actively contributing to realizing world peace.

Indonesia has always upheld the principles contained in the United Nations Charter.

“When we talk about the issue of territorial integrity, I think Indonesia’s decision is very clear and consistent,” she added.

In addition to the 52 paragraphs, the declaration also contains an attachment regarding inclusive recovery efforts and a list of cooperation projects under the G20 mechanism.

The document, according to Marsudi, was prepared to fulfill Indonesia’s promise as president of the G20 to strengthen concrete cooperation.

“So, there are 361 forms of cooperation in the attachment to the declaration. And during its presidency, Indonesia also synergized strengthening cooperation in a bilateral context with the G20 countries in three priority sectors, and there were 140 cooperation programs. I think, once again, apart from the achievement of the declaration itself, we have done many things to keep the G20 grounded for the benefit of the people,” she added.

(ANTARA)