REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi and her Swedish counterpart, Margot Wallstrom, have agreed to cooperate to support capacity building programs for Palestine.
"Indonesia and Sweden have agreed to cooperate to improve capacity building programs for Palestine through triangular cooperation," Marsudi said after holding bilateral talks with Wallstrom on the sidelines of the Asian-African Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center on Wednesday (22/4).
She added that Indonesia and Sweden have agreed to follow up on cooperation in capacity building programs for Palestine.
"We have agreed to follow up on cooperation in capacity building programs we can offer to Palestine. Therefore, I highly appreciate the presence of the Swedish foreign affairs minister at the event," she remarked.
Sweden took part in the Asian-African Summit as an observer state.
The Indonesian government warmly welcomes the presence of the Swedish foreign affairs minister at the event, Marsudi stated.
"We are delighted to have Sweden at the AAC summit as an observer. For Indonesia, especially in this conference, Sweden plays an important role because it is the first member state of the European Union to recognize Palestinian (independence)," she explained.
In addition, Wallstrom expressed gratitude to the Indonesian government for its cooperation in supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Sweden has decided to recognize Palestine, and we are conducting bilateral cooperation with the aim to fulfill the Palestinian people's needs," she affirmed.
However, she admitted that Sweden had received a lot of protests from several sides when it decided to recognize Palestine as a state.
The Swedish government has begun extending its support for Palestine's capacity building programs, she noted.
"We have extended our support to the Palestinian people in terms of project development, prevention of climate change, entrepreneurship and democratic development," she said.
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