Palestinian FM to attend Indonesian Seminar for Palestine

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al Maliki will attend a seminar held by the government of Indonesia on Dec 5 to support Palestine`s capacity building as an independent country, Foreign Ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir said here on Thursday.

"Maliki will attend a seminar on `empowering the people, strengthening the nation: Indonesia`s unwavering support for Palestinian through technical assistance," he stated.

He added in a weekly press briefing, the seminar was aimed at identifying Indonesia's technical assistance to prepare for Palestinian independence.

Since 2008, the Indonesian government has given technical assistance, in the form of education and training on capacity building, to more than 1,800 Palestinians, with funds reaching US$120 million.

"This seminar will take up two issues, namely on how Indonesia could help Palestine with capacity building and how to strengthen countries' support to Palestinian independence through international forums," Armanatha remarked.

The seminar is also aimed at evaluating and identifying international assistance for Palestinians. In view of that, the Indonesian government will invite the Egyptian ambassador to Indonesia, because it has also played a role in consolidating the two Palestinian factions, namely Hamas and Fatah.

While in Jakarta, Maliki would also hold a bilateral meeting with Marsudi on Dec 6.

Armanatha revealed that the support for Palestine was not only from the government but also from community members, through non-government agencies such as the development of Indonesian hospital, which was initiated by MER-C.

"We also extend aid through international forums, such as the Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD) and Asia-Africa Strategic Partnership, in the framework of Asia-Africa Conference," he explained.

Indonesia has also hosted CEAPAD in Jakarta in 2014, reaffirming East Asian countries` support to prepare Palestinian independence through capacity building assistance.

Indonesia has also shown its support to Palestine by being the host of the 5th Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference on Palestine and Al Quds Al Syarif on March 6 and 7, 2016, as a reaction to Israeli occupation of Jerusalem

Source: ANTARA