Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said this is the government`s attempt to increase the awareness of Indonesians traveling abroad, to provide them with better protection, and to familiarize them with their location.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesians traveling abroad will soon be sent details of hotline numbers of representatives nearest to them through a free and automatic Short Message Service (SMS).

This notification service for Indonesian travelers is an initiative of the government. It was created by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (MOCAI) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by both Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and Minister of Communication and Informatics Rudiantara here on Monday.

After the signing event at the Pancasila building of the MOFA, Marsudi told the press that the cooperation was initiated to provide optimum protection to Indonesian travelers overseas.

"This is the governments attempt to increase the awareness of Indonesians traveling abroad, to provide them with better protection, and to familiarize them with their location. They can contact the nearest Indonesian representatives in the country they are in to address even the simplest of problems," she said.

Marsudi explained that the SMS to notify Indonesians abroad would contain details about state representatives closest to them, such as an embassy or consulate, and a 24-hour hotline number.

"We (the MOFA) have urged all representatives of the Republic of Indonesia overseas to keep the hotline operational 24x7," she stated.

According to Rudiantara, the agreement on the notification service cooperation was implemented very fast; the MoU was signed within a week after the idea was discussed following President Joko "Jokowi" Widodos impromptu visit to Indonesian migrant workers.

"The service will be activated by January 1 at the latest. Operators in 11 countries held a successful trial," he noted.

It was telecommunications operator Indosat that held a trial in the eleven countries. These included South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, the U. S., Australia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the U. K., France, and Germany.

Besides Indosat, the government also asked other telecommunications operators that provide international roaming service, including Telkomsel, XL Axiata, and Smartfren Telecom, to hold trials.

"At present, this (SMS notification) service is being extended only to tourists. However, we hope that in the near future it can be developed to maximize its function to protect all Indonesians abroad, including migrant workers who stay overseas," Rudiantara remarked.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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