Jakarta (VOI News) - The Indonesian government confirms its efforts in combating the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic at home. This was said by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi in a virtual press statement on Thursday in Jakarta. She said at this time, all countries in the world were facing a health crisis that had never been experienced before. According to her, this challenge has encouraged the Indonesian government to work hard in dealing with domestic conditions in overcoming COVID-19. She stressed, there is no one size fits all countries in dealing with a pandemic. According to her, there is no guarantee that policies in one country can be applied in other countries. However, she said, every country needs to learn from other countries' experiences, best practices, and even learn from the deficiencies of other countries in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi stressed that the Indonesian government continues to increase efforts that can be made in countering the spread of the virus.

“The government of Indonesia will spare no effort to scale up, I would like to repeat, to scale up its effort to fight the virus. Every day we evaluate our policies, try to make them implementable and give more impact in our fights against the virus. This not easy of course but we will continue to do so. A multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral, all of government, and a whole of nation approaches are pursued with maximum effort. Policies adopted by governments are always based on the relevant and unique characteristics of a country. Whether its culture, demographic condition, or economy,” Retno Marsudi said.

Meanwhile related to international cooperation in handling COVID-19, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said that it was necessary to strengthen international cooperation so that people around the world could return to normal life. Related to this, she said, Indonesia had pushed the initiative in the resolution of the UN General Assembly held virtually on April 2, 2020, which encouraged global solidarity to combat COVID-19. She said at present, Indonesia's foreign diplomacy is focusing on efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic while protecting both Indonesian citizens abroad and foreign nationals at home.

“Indonesia consistently wants to ensure that our containment measure in restricting the movement of people will not disrupt global trade and supply chain, including medical goods and medicines. Like other countries, Indonesia and the world, in general, are facing shortages in various medical supplies. In this connection, collaboration with other countries is not just necessary but it is a must,” Retno added.

Meanwhile, related to the protection of citizens, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said that every country must open the door for repatriation. She also stressed the importance of implementing health protocols in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Related to this she said that the Indonesian Ministry of Health had issued a protocol for medical evacuation, both for Indonesian people from abroad and for foreigners at home. (VOI/Ndy/AHM)