OIC to highlight RI diplomacy
OIC to highlight RI diplomacy
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia, the world's largest Moslem country, will assume the chairmanship of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) this year, maintaining its active participation in international diplomacy pursued in recent years.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas in his traditional media briefing at the start of each year yesterday said the OIC chair and the conference's ministerial meeting which Indonesia will host in later in the year, are some of the highlights of Indonesia's diplomatic activities this year.
Alatas said Indonesia's proposal to host the 24th OIC ministerial meeting at the last meeting in Conakry, Guinea, last December, was accepted by acclamation.
The chairing of OIC's Ministerial Meeting marks another milestone in Indonesian foreign policy after previously presiding over the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 1994 and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in 1992-1995.
"The acceptance of Indonesia as the host of the 24th Ministerial Meeting is an acknowledgment of Indonesia's positive role in international politics," said Alatas in his written statement.
The OIC was formed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in May 1971. Its 52-nation membership is made up of countries who are an Islamic state or, like Indonesia, whose population is made up of a majority of Moslems. It is comprised of mostly Middle East and African states. Indonesia, along with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Malaysia and Pakistan make up the Asian members.
Indonesia has attached great importance to the OIC which along with NAM strives for the betterment of developing countries.
Among Indonesia's contributions within the OIC was chairing the OIC Ministerial Committee of Six to facilitate a peaceful solution to the separatist Moro Moslem minority in the southern Philippines.
Important events
Though not as busy as 1995, which Alatas called "the year most filled with international conferences and meetings", he said 1996 will also see its share of important events.
Among the international events Indonesia is scheduled to participate in is the Asian-European Summit in Bangkok in March.
In April Indonesia will participate in the Ninth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Midrant, South Africa. The theme of the conference will be "Promoting Growth and Sustainable Development in a Globalizing and Liberalizing World Economy."
In July, Indonesia will host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting which will be followed by a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum and a series of post- ministerial conferences with the group's major trading partners.
President Soeharto is expected to attend three summit meetings this year. One is the Asian-European summit in Bangkok in March and the other both in November: the World Food Summit in Rome and the APEC leaders meeting in Subic Bay, the Philippines.
In December, Soeharto will host an informal meeting of ASEAN heads of state.
According to Alatas apart from the seven members of ASEAN -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will attend. He added that ASEAN is also contemplating inviting East Asian countries such as China to the informal summit.
Speaking on the events of the past year, Alatas noted that despite encouraging progress, some very worrying developments transpired at the United Nations in 1995.
These included what he perceived as a slowing down of the revitalization and restructuring of the world body, along with the increasing use of force by the UN Security Council.
"There is a tendency for the big countries to use their influence in the Security Council to force their intentions through," Alatas said, pointing to the imposing of economic sanctions on a number of states.
Indonesia with fellow members of NAM were coordinating efforts to ensure a more transparent and accountable UN, along with the abstention of the veto use in the Security Council, he said.
Other discouraging events included France's complete nonchalance in the face of international protests against continued nuclear testing in the South Pacific. (mds)