STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT. The Indonesian government has confirmed earlier reports that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will pay visits to Ukraine and Russia next week to push for a resolution to their ongoing war, the first such visit by any Asian leader.
The announcement was made yesterday by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who said that Jokowi will travel to Kyiv and Moscow after attending the G7 Summit in Germany on June 26-28, and will meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Russian near-namesake and nemesis Vladimir Putin.
“The president is showing compassion on the humanitarian crisis, will try to contribute to dealing with the food crisis caused by the war, and the impact felt on all countries, especially the developing and low-income ones,” Retno told a news conference, as reported by Reuters. She added, “And he’ll keep pushing for the spirit of peace.”
President Jokowi will visit the capitals of Ukraine and Russia after attending a multilateral summit in Germany next week, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi announced on Wednesday, in the hope of bringing an end to an ongoing war that has had global repercussions.
Jokowi has accepted an invitation to attend a meeting of the G7 industrialized economies in the Bavarian Alps from June 26 to 28. From there the president is expected to continue his journey to Kyiv and Moscow, Retno said, although she did not disclose the exact dates.
“Visits to these two countries will be carried out during abnormal circumstances. We understand that the current situation is still very complicated and the world understands the complexity of the existing problem,” she told reporters in an online press briefing.
Retno emphasized that President Jokowi’s visit to both countries was to continue to encourage the spirit of peace. Responding to an inquiry on Jokowi’s planned visit, Ukrainian Ambassador to Indonesia Vasyl Hamianin said, “It was [Indonesia’s] decision.” A Russian Embassy spokesperson did not offer further comment when asked.
Minister Retno on Wednesday said that in the midst of a complicated and complex state of the world, Indonesia as the G20 president still receives very strong support, and that discussions at working group level are going well. “So I can say that everything is on the right track. This difficult situation actually encourages Indonesia’s presidency to be more active in making the G20 a catalyst for global economic recovery,” she said.
Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Lyudmila Vorobieva on Wednesday said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will physically attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in July in Bali. Although she did not specify what Lavrov would say, Vorobieva assured that Russia supported Indonesia’s stance that G20 meetings should not be politicized and should instead focus on addressing economic and financial concerns.
Health and finance ministers from the G20 group of the world’s major economies agreed to set up a permanent global fund to prepare for future pandemics, Indonesia’s finance minister said on Tuesday.
The ministers and senior officials met in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta to hammer out the details of the Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF), which will be jointly managed by the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The FIF establishment is now being finalized,” Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said at a press conference at the end of the meeting. “I believe that the board of the World Bank will meet on June 30. By that time, if it is approved by the board, then this FIF will start to operate,” she said (Red/many sources).
