Indonesia's leadership has been under a lot of pressure from the West to call off the invitation to Russia to take part in the G20 Bali summit in November. But Indonesian officials have refused to do so, with the country's President Joko Widodo holding meetings with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to Hosea RB Manurung, first secretary in charge of press, public diplomacy and cultural affairs at Indonesia’s Embassy in Russia, the purpose of Indonesia’s G20 presidency is to make this platform beneficial for all participants, with the possibility for all members to openly share their thoughts.
“We hope that the G20 summit in Bali can be used as a true platform of sharing, discussions, and not a forum for 'naming and shaming.' So that's what I think is the true goal at the moment,” the diplomat tells Sputnik.
Hosea RB Manurung and a group of Indonesian government officials attended two youth policy events in the Russian city of Kazan, which concluded their work on Tuesday. They shared with Sputnik their impressions from the two events, the Global Youth Summit and the V Forum of Young Diplomats, and commented on Indonesia's role in organizing international forums, such as the G20 summit and ASEAN meetings.
According to Hosea RB Manurung, the preparations for the Kazan events were “impressive,” making the forum and the summit good international "platforms for sharing and discussion."
Another delegate from Indonesia, Dr. Asrorun Niam, who is the deputy on youth development at the country’s Ministry of Youth And Sports Affairs, told Sputnik that the Global Youth Summit, which is part of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Youth Capital program, gave an opportunity to participating delegations to discuss both secular and religious issues:
“The Global Youth summit is very, very important to do cooperation, especially between youth in the world and in Islamic countries, to make sure that youth, our Islamic youth, have a positive contribution, to make a lot of prosperity and make sure that the world is in peace.”
According Dr. Niam, his country, which has the biggest Muslim population in the world, aims for the leading role in establishing cooperation in the ASEAN region, and in Islamic countries in particular. He also stressed the role that Jakarta plays in organizing big international events, such as the G20, and its youth engagement group, the Y20, which has been addressing many issues that were also discussed during the Kazan meetings, namely youth empowerment, economic policy, and digital transformation.
The Indonesian delegates underlined, that since declaring independence in 1945, their nation has been practicing a “free and active foreign policy,” playing an active role in regional affairs and avoiding involvement in conflicts among major powers.
When asked to weigh in on Indonesia’s next big international project, the ASEAN presidency, which will be transferred to Jakarta in 2023, Noviyanti Nurmala, who is the first secretary at the political division of Indonesia’s Embassy in Russia, expressed optimism:
“We are hoping for ASEAN to make a better contribution for peace and also for the welfare. Our tagline is 'to recover rapidly and also recover together.' And that's our main goal for the ASEAN presidency next year.”
The Global Youth Summit in the capital of Russia’s predominantly Muslim Republic of Tatarstan was attended by 300 participants from 60 nations, with guests arriving from Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and other regions. The delegates discussed youth migration, employment, and mental health issues, among others.
The summit ran in parallel with another international youth event organized by Tatarstan’s government and Russia’s Foreign Ministry, the V Global Forum of Young Diplomats, which was attended by emissaries from 42 nations and was dedicated to discussing digital transformation, hybrid wars, and digital diplomacy.