"I met with Myanmars State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday evening. Suu Kyi said access to humanitarian aid will be opened, so Indonesia is ready to send humanitarian aid to the Rohingya," Retno remarked after a bilateral meeting with her Suriname counterpart Niermala Badrising at Hotel Westin, Nusa Dua, Bali, on Wednesday night.
The foreign affairs minister stated that in the meeting with Suu Kyi, Indonesia emphasized its focus on the problems occurring in Rakhine.
"Indonesia expects that the situation in Rakhine State will return to normal, where all communities, including Muslims in Rakhine, must get protection and respect for their human rights," Retno noted.
After meeting with Suu Kyi, Minister Retno also conducted meetings with several Indonesian humanitarian organizations who are ready to deliver humanitarian aid packages.
After the bilateral meeting with the Suriname foreign affairs minister, Retno said Indonesia had called on Myanmar to hold an inter-faith dialogue to put an end to the conflict in Rakhine State.
"The cooperation we are seeking in the future is an inter-faith dialogue. We see Myanmar as a pluralistic society, just like Indonesia," Retno remarked.
The Indonesian foreign minister confirmed she had spoken with Muslim and Buddhist organizations to promote inter-faith cooperation.
According to her, Suu Kyi had lauded the role played by Indonesia to help resolve the problem in Rakhine.
In addition, Retno said, Indonesia is ready to strengthen cooperation with Myanmar in terms of capacity building for the respect of human rights and democracy.
"Actually, this is only a continuation of the cooperation that has long existed between Indonesia and Myanmar, as in the context of the Bali Democracy Forum, a cooperation forum seeking peace and democracy. We are planning a number of cooperation programs with Myanmar," she added.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
