VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized the importance of building mutual trust among parties to overcome the problem of Rakhine State, Myanmar.

Marsudi brought up the issue of Rakhine State at the 46th Organization of Islamic Cooperation Council of Foreign Ministers meeting held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Friday (March 1).

The need to resolve the issue of trust deficits, both between communities in the Rakhine State as well as between Myanmar and the international community, is essential to manage the situation and create peace in the conflicted area.

As a fellow Southeast Asian country, Indonesia had contributed to help overcome the situation in Rakhine by promoting humanitarian assistance as well as helping efforts to repatriate Rakhine refugees from Bangladesh to Rakhine State voluntarily, safely and honorably.

Marsudi also stated that ASEAN continued to strive to help bridge, assist the repatriation process, including by sending teams to create conducive conditions for the repatriation of refugees.

"Progress must be achieved at Rakhine State. Myanmar must work hard to show that progress can be carried out, and we expect the OIC to fully support ASEAN’s efforts," Marsudi noted in a statement released by the Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

The OIC meeting is held at the Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi on March 1 and 2, 2019, under the theme "Fifty Years of Islamic Cooperation: Roadmap for Prosperity and Development."

At the meeting, Bangladesh handed over the chairmanship of OIC CFM to UAE. The meeting would also ratify more than 130 draft resolutions related to OIC cooperation on various issues.

During the meeting, the Indonesian government submitted three draft resolutions related to the establishment of the OIC Contact Group for Peace and Dialogue, Islamic Office for the Boycott of Israel, and the Global Pact on Migration.

In addition, the Indonesian government also submitted an annual resolution draft regarding the first meeting of the OIC Medicines Supervisory Board which was held in Jakarta in November 2018, as well as Indonesia’s role and assistance to help handle the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State, Myanmar. (ANTARA)