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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a special mark on the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), during his visit to New York on Sept. 24-28.
On Sept. 25, he was the ninth speaker before the 192 member countries in the plenary session, speaking on relevant issues, such as the fate of humanity against acts of religious defamation and the prerequisite of maintaining peace and stability before embarking on lasting development.
On the same day, Yudhoyono also co-chaired the first and historic meeting of the High-level Panel (HLP) of Eminent Persons to discuss the global development agenda after 2015, joining Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
This was the third time President Yudhoyono participated in the UNGA, the first being in 2005 when he delivered his iconic statement: “I come here to represent 240 million Indonesians”.
In 2007, he attended again the UNGA and presided over the UN Security Council, the financing for development debate and the Forest-11 talks. In 2009, although only attending the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, he announced Indonesia’s commitment of a 26/41 percent reduction of greenhouse gasses by 2020, which echoed in the halls of the UNGA.
And this year, with his opening words he reasserted Indonesia’s views to defend world peace and stability: “I am honored to represent my country, Indonesia, to discuss how we can find better ways to peacefully resolve or manage conflicts around the world.”
Indeed, his experience with the UN has gone through many interesting times, as President and as Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister. Since 1999, he had followed the case of East Timor, now brotherly neighbor Timor Leste, the 2000 Atambua incident, his chairmanship of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bali in 2007, and now cochairmanship of the HLP.
Other international achievements include bringing peace and stability to Aceh and pursuing a renewed development agenda for Papua. With close relations to former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and his successor Ban Ki-Moon, Yudhoyono has always defended and promoted Indonesia’s interests in this multilateral forum, bringing great pride to Indonesian delegates in various international forums.
This gradual rise of Indonesia’s standing in the UN from 1999 to 2012 is an achievement many Indonesians need to always remember. From a difficult point in 1999, to a global recognition today, Indonesia not only contributes to regional and global peace, but also promotes the interests of global development in times of crisis.
Indonesia had always played an active role in the UN, through the Non-Aligned Movement, the G77 and peacekeeping missions as a respectable developing country despite the typical burdens of the South (combating poverty, pursuing MDGs and social development). But today, Indonesia is seen as a unique member of the UN.
Indonesia is a developing country and yet a member of the G20; the largest Muslim country and yet the third largest democracy; a bridging force for consensus, consistently playing its role as part of the solution and as a net contributor to peace through UN peacekeeping missions.
In essence, Yudhoyono’s active participation at the UNGA over three sessions and other UN events has not only informed the world that Indonesia endured a domestic transformation, but also persevered through global crises and is poised to contribute globally through its social-justice, market-driven and environmentally friendly economic model.
And with these achievements, Indonesia’s case has become a unique example that anything is possible; that crisis can be turned into opportunity, that dialogue can resolve historic crises and the worst natural disasters can bring countries together in humanitarian cooperation.
In New York last week, reporters from the US, Europe and the Middle East were eager to ask Yudhoyono for the recipe for success of Indonesia’s economy, how he viewed defamation of religion and what was next on the global development agenda.
All those questions were answered in one way or another — through doorstop discussions, press conferences or one-on-one interviews, in English or Indonesian, not only with reporters but also with prominent businesspeople, heads of state and even members of the Indonesian diaspora in the US.
As the world continues its course through global economic uncertainty and pockets of regional instability, both political and economic Alhamdulillah as Yudhoyono would say, Indonesia is on a trajectory to bring her 240 million people to new levels of opportunity and prosperity.
The President’s involvement for more than a decade with the UN (in chairing meetings, negotiating, lobbying and speaking within its halls) has clearly contributed many unique and productive ideas on political, security, economic, environmental and social issues, on behalf of Indonesia.
This is something that the next leaders of Indonesia will benefit from in their engagement with the UN. In the meantime, Yudhoyono will go into overdrive as he co-chairs the HLP, receiving the input and hopes of countries, private sectors, NGOs and civil society groups.
If anything should be taken away by Indonesians from Yudhoyono’s visit, it is probably this — that the world sees Indonesia with greater admiration and respect as a country that has endured tough times and possesses potential leadership in global affairs.
And this is not the President’s victory, nor his ministers, nor his ambassadors to the UN or the US. It is the achievement of all Indonesians. And with all these developments, this renewed sense of optimism is probably the one message that Yudhoyono really wanted to share, not just with the world, but with all Indonesians back home.
The writer is an assistant special staff of the President for international relations. The opinions expressed are personal.
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