VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo affirmed that the Indonesian government will continue to support Palestine to become an independent state, including by providing economic and humanitarian assistance.

"In addition to humanitarian assistance, Indonesia provides capacity-building assistance to prepare for Palestine's independence," Jokowi stated at the Bogor Presidential Palace, here, Monday.

The president conveyed this in a joint press statement with Palestinian Prime Minister (PM) Mohammad IM Shtayyeh, who paid a state visit to Indonesia.

Speaking in connection with economic cooperation, Jokowi said that trade between both nations had continued to increase, from January to July 2022, with growth of 21.28 percent recorded as compared to the corresponding period in 2021.

"Indonesia has provided unilateral facilities in the form of exemption from import duties for dates and olives from Palestine to Indonesia. The facilities will be applied for other products from Palestine," he remarked.

The president noted that the facilities were a form of support from Indonesia to Palestine while expressing optimism that the economic cooperation would continue to be improved in future.

"A few days ago, the memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed by the Indonesian government for a new aid grant agreement for Palestine. In addition, Indonesia is in the process of distributing aid to Palestine through UNRWA and ICRC," Jokowi remarked.

UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, while the ICRC is the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"Assistance to Palestine does not only come from the government but also from civil society. Currently, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) is in the process of building an Indonesian hospital in Hebron, Palestine," the head of state noted.

Jokowi remarked that PM Shtayyeh's visit was his first official trip to Indonesia since being appointed as prime minister.

"Indonesia and Palestine are close friends. Palestine was one of the first countries to recognize Indonesia's independence. Indonesia also consistently continues to support the struggle of the Palestinian people," the head of state affirmed.

The international community continues to push for a peaceful solution between Palestine and Israel, which is primarily based on the principle of a two-state solution, as mandated in various resolutions of the General Assembly (MU) and the UN Security Council (DK).

However, various challenges arise to realize peace between the two countries, such as the United States' decision on December 6, 2017, to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and followed by the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018.

Indonesia has consistently voiced the rights of the Palestinian people, including encouraging the establishment of a Palestinian state under the principle of a two-state solution, including in the implementation of the 60th Anniversary of the Bandung Conference/Asia-Africa Conference in April 2015.

During that commemoration, the Declaration on Palestine was agreed to underline the support of Asian and African countries towards the struggle of the Palestinian people to gain independence and efforts to create a two-state solution. (Antaranews)