First Indonesian Woman Minister Visits Afghanistan

KABUL, May 16 (Antara) - Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Yembise is the first Indonesian woman minister to visit Afghanistan, Indonesian Ambassador to Afghanistan Arief remarked here on Monday. The Indonesian woman minister is on a visit to forge bilateral cooperation in the field of women's empowerment in Afghanistan. "Women's empowerment in Afghanistan is a prime issue for the Indonesian Embassy here, Afghan government, the European Union, and the United Nations, and thus, the visit of Minister Yohana holds great significance for the relations between Indonesia and Afghanistan," Arief affirmed. In addition, he noted that the Indonesian woman minister's visit to Afghanistan was the first of its kind after the Taliban regime ended. Arief said Minister Yembise's visit to Afghanistan was a monumental event in the spirit of boosting bilateral relations between the two countries. Arief stated that Yembise's visit was a follow up to Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani's state visit to Indonesia on April 5-6, 2017, thereby marking the first state visit in the history of the two countries' bilateral relations since the past 62 years. During the visit to Indonesia, Ghani urged President Joko Widodo to help Afghanistan in empowering the women in the country. While in Afghanistan, Minister Yembise will act as a keynote speaker at the 4th Symposium: "Afghan Women, Messenger of Peace" and will thereafter meet the nation's First Lady Rula Ghani.