Indonesia calls on world to share burden of overcoming global challenges

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo has called for the importance of all countries around the world to share the burdens on efforts to overcome various global challenges.

The call was conveyed by the head of state through a pre-recorded video message during the general debate session of the 76th United Nations General Assembly in New York, the United States, on Wednesday (Sep. 22) local time.

The president emphasized that the global community has high hopes for the results of the general assembly in order to answer such current global concerns as the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economy, the planet’s resilience in the future, and various conflicts worldwide.

In front of the world leaders, the Indonesian President called for four important points that should be followed up with concrete steps.

First, the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic should be carried out quickly, fairly and evenly.

“No one is safe until everyone is,” said the head of state, emphasizing that efforts to accelerate the handling of COVID-19 include vaccination.

The president also stated that politicization and discrimination against vaccines still occur, so it is very important to reorganize the architecture of global health resilience.

Second, the Indonesian head of state underlined that global economy could only be recovered if the pandemic is under control, and all countries could work together and help each other.

He stressed that Indonesia, and other developing countries, open their door as wide as possible for quality investment.

Third, President Joko Widodo conveyed Indonesia’s commitment in pursuing climate resilience, low-carbon development, and green technology.

He underscored that the process of transforming energy and environmentally friendly technology should facilitate developing countries to participate in industrial development and become technology producers.

“The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us of the importance of distributing production centers for vaccines in the world, in many countries,” he said.

Fourth, the president stressed the importance of serious efforts against intolerance, conflicts, terrorism, and wars. “We must uphold peace in diversity, guarantee the rights of women and minorities,” he said.

The president also conveyed Indonesia’s commitment in supporting the peace process in Afghanistan, Palestine and Myanmar, as well as Indonesia’s readiness as the G20 President in 2022 with the main theme, “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”.

In the closing section, the Indonesian President highlighted Indonesia’s hope and support for multilateralism in the face of massive world’s agendas.

“It is urgent for us to safeguard effective multilateralism with concrete works and results. Let us work together to recover together, recover stronger,” he stressed.

The 76th high level week session of the UN general assembly with the theme Building Resilience Through Hope – To Recover from Covid-19, Rebuild Sustainably, Respond to The Needs Of The Planet, Respect The Rights Of People, And Revitalize The United Nations, is taking place from September 21 to 27, 2021.

Due to the pandemic, heads of state/government who cannot attend in person are allowed to submit their national statements via pre-recorded videos.

Reporting by Indonesia Window