Fajarasia.co – The Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, held a bilateral meeting with the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Olena Kondratiuk. In the meeting with the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Puan pushed for peace between Ukraine and Russia, which are still at war.
The bilateral meeting was held ahead of the opening of the 8th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) at the Indonesian Parliament Building, Senayan, Jakarta, Wednesday (5/10/2022). Puan also expressed concern over the war in Ukraine which caused many casualties and had an impact on the global situation in the world.
“Our special invitation to the Ukrainian Parliament at P20, is our concrete step to assist communication between Parliaments in resolving the war in Ukraine,” said Puan.
Puan appreciated that the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Ukraine which had existed for 30 years was still running warm even in the midst of an uncertain regional situation due to war. Indonesia is one of Ukraine’s largest trading partners in Southeast Asia.
“I understand that the war in Ukraine has affected all of our efforts to recover the economy after the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, the peace process is Indonesia’s top priority,” said Puan.
“The visit of the President of Indonesia to Ukraine and Russia in June was carried out to bring a message of peace. The visit also promotes safe passage for food and fertilizer to and from Ukraine and Russia,” continued the first woman who served as Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives.
Puan added that Indonesia welcomes the resumption of grain exports from Ukraine under the Black Sea Initiative. This agreement plays an important role in reducing the impact of war on global supply chains.
“Of course, this positive step must also be followed by easy access to exports of food and fertilizer products from Russia, as agreed in the Istanbul agreement,” explained Puan.
The former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture also hopes that other countries will respect the agreement. Puan requested that all countries ensure a balanced implementation of the Istanbul Agreement and hoped that the initiative could also bring peace in the Region.
“Indonesia hopes that the initiative to open the food supply chain (Black Sea Grain Initiative) will continue, for the common interest of all parties,” he said.
“Indonesia hopes that the initiative to open the food supply chain (Black Sea Grain Initiative) will continue, for the common interest of all parties,” he said.
As is known, Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement in Istanbul last July to deliver millions of tons of Ukrainian wheat to global markets and alleviate the worsening food crisis for millions of people in developing countries. Ukraine itself is the second largest supplier of wheat to Indonesia.
In various meetings with other parliamentary leaders, Puan continues to encourage the international community to continue to support dialogue and diplomacy as an effort to stop the war between Ukraine and Russia. He also always conveys Indonesia’s position on the conflict between the two countries.
Puan continued to emphasize that Indonesia respects the goals and principles of the UN charter and international law regarding the wars between Ukraine and Russia. The principles in the UN charter that Indonesia upholds include the peaceful settlement of disputes and upholding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state.
“Indonesia views that the referendum in the 4 regions of Ukraine violates the principles of the UN charter and international law. Indonesia encourages Russia and Ukraine to continue to open lines of dialogue and diplomacy, as one of the efforts to stop war and lead to peace,” said Puan.
The grandson of the Proclaimer of the Republic of Indonesia Bung Karno then mentioned the results of the 144th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly in Bali last March which agreed to form an IPU Task Force on Ukraine in which Indonesia was one of the initiators. According to Puan, the IPU Task Force is also expected to mediate differences between Russia and Ukraine, as well as facilitate communication between the two countries.
“Indonesia has also been the initiator of the resolution on the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the 144th General Assembly in March. As a follow-up to this, the Chairperson of the DPR’s Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency went to Ukraine last July to open a dialogue channel to end the conflict,” continued the Chair of the 144th IPU General Assembly.
Indonesia together with the IPU task force will later present the results of the visit to Ukraine before the 145th IPU General Assembly which will be held in Kigali, Rwanda in October 2022.
On the other hand, the DPR continues to ensure that bilateral relations between parliaments can be established even better, including with Ukraine. Puan hopes that the Bilateral Cooperation Group with the Ukrainian Parliament can further strengthen relations between the two countries.
“The Indonesian House of Representatives views the importance of parliamentary diplomacy, both bilaterally and multilaterally, at the regional or global level because the war in Ukraine has had a heavy impact on many countries in the world, particularly related to food supply (wheat and fertilizer) and energy,” he concluded.****
