FOREIGN MINISTRY RECEIVES 'BANDUNG SPIRIT' PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

Jakarta, Dec 1 (ANTARA) - The Foreign Affairs Ministry on Tuesday received participants of a "Bandung Spirit" program being implemented in the framework of a New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NAASP) to build a bridge between the two continents.

The program covering the period November 29-December 5, 2009 is being held in Jakarta, Bandung and Denpasar with the aim of formulating partnerships in three areas, namely in developing solidarity, political and economic cooperation and socio-cultural relations in order to make Asia and Africa peaceful, prosperous and advanced regions.

On the occasion, Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa met the nine participants from nine countries, namely Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Samoa and Tonga.

The minister said the program was also meant to help realize his ministry's mission to create 'a thousand friends and zero enemies'.

He also stated that his ministry was preparing the opening of Indonesia's diplomatic relations with several African countries such as Kiribati, Niue and others.

He said the fact that Indonesia had so far not yet established diplomatic relation with a number of African countries was not caused by any substantial problem, and therefore it would be done in the near future.
"Yet, so far, Indonesia's relationships with these African countries in UN activities have been very good, and they even supported each other. What needs to be done now is to formalize these relationships," Marty said.

If there were constraints in Indonesia's relationships with these African countries, one of them was a lack of infrastructure such as air connections between Indonesia and those countries.

But in terms of similar interests, there were many issues on which Indonesia and African countries can fight together, for instance, climate change, as a number of African countries were also affected by the sea level rise.

"As archipelagic countries, the impact of climate change such as the sea level rise has become a common concern and we have the same concern in preventing climate change," said Marty.

According to Marty, this opportunity could be used as a means to strengthen cooperation against the impact of climate change between the two continents of Asia and Africa.

Meanwhile, the effort of 26 percent emissions reduction target in 2020 pronounced by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, United States, on September 2009, was expected to have a demonstrative effect and encourage other countries to do the same.

"We must cooperate in the face of the climate change problem, because the earth we live in is the only one we have," he added.

***4***