VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the Indonesian Consulate General in Cape Town held a coordination meeting on public services and protection of Indonesian citizens on March 27-29, 2024 in Cape Town South Africa.

A press statement received in Jakarta Thursday (28/3) said the meeting was attended by 10 Indonesian representatives in the African region namely the Indonesian Embassies of Abuja Addis Ababa Antananarivo Dakar Dares Salam Harare Maputo Nairobi Pretoria and the Indonesian Consulate General in Cape Town.

In his speech. Indonesian Consul General Cape Town. Tudiono. expressed his full support for this activity. The coordination meeting also sought to increase service capacity and protection for Indonesian citizens. including ship crew. In 2018 Indonesian Seafarer Corner was established for Indonesian ship crew in Cape Town.

The parties involved agreed on the preparation of an integrated contingency plan for the African region. especially regarding crisis situations that threaten the safety of Indonesian citizens abroad. They also agreed on the importance of accelerating digital transformation in public services which is conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Indonesian Representatives. in order to realize excellent public service.

Apart from that they also agreed to carry out technical guidance on public services regularly both in person and online meetings to increase the capacity of service providers. Efforts to protect Indonesian citizens in dealing with the law in foreign countries can be seen from the number of cases in the African region. During 2022-2023 the number of cases handled by Indonesian Representatives reached 208 or 2.44 percent of the total cases of Indonesian citizens in foreign countries.

The Indonesian Citizen protection system also continues to be built and strengthened among other things, building an Integrated Protection and Service System for Indonesian Citizens abroad namely the Indonesian Citizen Care Portal and the Safe Travel application. The Indonesian Consulate General in Cape Town also strengthens regulations and innovative policies such as building a Shelter for Crew Members and appointing a strong Legal Team for the Protection of Indonesian Citizens in countries where most Indonesian citizens live in