"The Colombian government wants to take a cue from Indonesia on how it resolved the Aceh conflict through a peaceful settlement," Kalla stated.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Colombian government is keen to take a cue from the peaceful settlement of the Aceh conflict to handle its domestic conflict, according to Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
As published on the official website of the Vice Presidents Secretariat, on Thursday, Kalla said Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos expressed his intentions during a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the APEC Summit Meeting in Manila.
"The Colombian government wants to take a cue from Indonesia on how it resolved the Aceh conflict through a peaceful settlement," Kalla stated.
According to Kalla, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi and a team led by Hamid Awaluddin visited Colombia to share the experience gained while solving the conflict.
Hamid was the former Indonesian minister for human rights and legal affairs and had played a role in the settlement of the Aceh conflict.
"A team from Colombia will visit Indonesia next month to study the steps taken to reach the peaceful settlement," Kalla affirmed.
Vice President Kalla pointed out that the conflict in Colombia had been ongoing since a long time and had raged longer than the Aceh conflict.
During the bilateral meeting, Kalla had reiterated the Indonesian governments capability and readiness to facilitate and assist in the process of reaching a peaceful settlement in Colombia.
Additionally, Kalla has received an honorary doctorate from the Syiah Kuala University for his services in facilitating peace and humanitarian affairs.
Kalla had initiated the Helsinki Agreement in 2006 to settle the conflict in Aceh and had assisted in the efforts to reconstruct the province after the tsunami disaster devastated the region.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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