REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia and Norway have expressed commitment to cooperate to help Afghanistan development under the framework of South-South and Triangular cooperation.
The director general of America and Europe of the Indonesian ministry of foreign affairs, Dian Triansyah Djani, said on the sideline of the 60th Asia-Africa Conference commemoration here on Sunday the cooperation was part of the realization of involvement of advanced countries in boosting the South-South and Triangular cooperation.
"Indonesia has played a role in mobilizing various kinds of development in Asian and African countries. This cooperation is a concrete realization of Indonesia's participation in the South-South and Triangular cooperation. Indonesia would not only increase cooperation with developing countries but would also involve advanced countries like Norway in the effort," he said.
"Indonesia has initiated a triangular cooperation in which our capacity will be shared with other developing countries through cooperation as well as other countries in the world in this case Norway," he said.
With regard to helping Afghanistan he said Indonesia and Norway would conduct training for police women in Afghanistan and the two countries would also give assistance to the people of Afghanistan in the field of education.
"We are planning various activities in the form of capacity building and training which are basically organized based upon the needs in various sectors. Later we will keep developing them in line with the needs of the country concerned. The principle is quality and benefit. Through the cooperation local wisdom could also be learned to be developed in other countries," he said.
Through the cooperation Indonesia would also get various kinds of benefit, he added.
"Afghanistan has an expertise in agriculture upon which cooperation could be made. Apart from that exchange of information on specific issues could also be done," he said.
Norway ambassador to Indonesia Stig Traavik meanwhile said the cooperation between Norway and Indonesia was very important for the two countries.
President Joko Widodo has met with Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg recently to mark the strengthening of the two countries' bilateral cooperation in the field of environment, human rights, energy, fisheries and maritime affairs.
"Indonesia has an important role to play in the international system. I think it is very important to reflect the South-South cooperation experiences and how to promote them in the current era.
Countries in the South are able to cooperate with support from countries in the North," he said.
Indonesia and Norway would keep strengthening their bilateral relations by cooperating to help other countries besides Afghanistan in the framework of boosting progress of the South-South cooperation.
In the framework of Triangular cooperation Indonesia has now had 19 partners. Before Indonesia has made 45 capacity building programs for Afghanistan since 2006 involving 337 participants in the fields of training, public health, scholarship and others.
At the opening of the South-South and Triangular Cooperation Exhibition held by the Indonesian government here on Sunday foreign minister Retno LP Marsudi said that the South-South and Triangular Cooperation must be strengthened so that it could contribute to creating world peace and welfare.
The minister said Indonesia is committed very much to strengthening the cooperation.