VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews,Jakarta: The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 2023 Hassan Wirajuda Protection of Indonesian Citizen Award (HWPA) at Graha Bhakti Budaya Taman Ismail Marzuki in Jakarta on Friday evening (26/4). The award appreciated 23 figures and entities from Indonesia and foreign countries, who have contributed to protecting Indonesian citizens (WNI) abroad.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi in her speech mentioned three reflections regarding the protection of Indonesian citizens during her time in office. One of them is increasingly complex challenges in which Indonesian citizens abroad face problems, such as disasters, conflicts, and even online fraud.

“From time to time, the number of cases of Indonesian citizens abroad is increasing. In 2022, the  cases  reached 35,149. This number also increased by more than 50 percent to 53,598 cases in 2023. Apart from the number of cases, world conditions are increasingly characterized by various dynamics ranging  from natural disasters, armed conflicts, to the development of increasingly sophisticated transnational crime modes,” she noted.

Furthermore, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that more than 1,100 Indonesian citizens have been repatriated since 2023 due to conflicts in a number of regions. However, since 2021, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recorded more than 3,400 cases of Indonesian citizens caught in online fraud; 40% of which were related to human trafficking. 

Besides the complexity of the challenges, Minister Retno also conveyed  the importance of strengthening collaboration among all parties and taking  experience as the best teacher. Therefore, at this event, she launched a book entitled "Presenting the Country to the End of the World", containing reflections on the HWPA awards over the last eight years. (VOI/Rama-Mar/AF/Rahmana)