Indonesia, Sweden Agree To Support Each Other For UN Position

Jakarta, Apr 22 (Antara) - Indonesia and Sweden agreed to lend mutual support with regard to securing a non-permanent membership of the United Nation Security Council (UNSC). "Indonesia and Sweden will support each other to secure a non-permanent membership of the UNSC," Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi stated here on Wednesday after meeting her Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom on the sidelines of the Asia-Africa summit. Retno noted that Indonesia will support Sweden to become a non-permanent member of the UNSC Council for the 2017-2018 period while Sweden will in turn support Indonesia to become a non-permanent member of the UNSC for the 2019-2020 period. The Indonesian government hailed Sweden's presence at the Asia-Africa conference as an observer nation. "We are glad to receive Sweden at the AAC as an observer. For Indonesia, especially with regard to the conference, Sweden's participation is important because it is the first European Union member that recognizes Palestine," she pointed out. Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom lauded Indonesia for supporting the two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine issue. "Sweden has decided to recognize Palestine, and now, we are cooperating to meet the needs of Palestine," she remarked. She hoped that Sweden could contribute to peace and stability in the region by sharing its experiences and knowledge about democracy and good governance. One of the key issues currently being discussed at the United Nations (UN) is the proposal for increasing the number of members in the UNSC. "We agreed to the extension of UNSC's membership, but on the other hand, the UNSC must certainly become more democratic, and the right to veto must be dropped. This will create a 'most unlikely' situation as it will be very difficult, with the current members attempting to block the resolution to prevent it from being passed," Indonesian Ambassador to the UN Desra Percaya emphasized. He noted that Indonesia has a realistic viewpoint that reform must be carried out in the UN by increasing the number of its members at an agreed figure.