Peace must be built, cultivated and nurtured: Indonesian FM

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi openS of the photo exhibition entitled "Investing in Peace" held at the UN Headquarters in New York on Monday. (Foreign Affairs Ministry)

Peace is something we must build, cultivate and nurture,

New York, Amerika Serikat (ANTARA) - Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, during a photo exhibition about Indonesia's contribution to world peace, stressed that peace must be built, cultivated, and nurtured all the time.

"Peace is something we must build, cultivate and nurture," Marsudi said at the opening of the photo exhibition entitled "Investing in Peace" held at the UN Headquarters in New York on Monday.

The exhibition was held as part of Indonesia’s Presidency of the UN Security Council in New York.

The exhibition showcases Indonesia’s peace-building initiatives in many countries, which have been part of its diplomacy over the past five years.

At that opening ceremony, the Indonesian Foreign Minister emphasized that for Indonesia, peace went beyond the absence of war. Community empowerment, development, human rights and democracy should be parts of the picture. Therefore, building and maintaining peace could only be attained through tangible commitments.

Based on this principle, Indonesia’s humanitarian diplomacy and technical cooperation are geared toward ensuring tangible impacts that in turn, sustain peace in the long term. This is what the photo exhibition aims to reflect.

The photo exhibition documented Indonesia’s contribution toward global peace under three sub-themes, namely Investing in Democracy and Peace building, Investing in Women as Agents of Peace, and Investing in Development Cooperation.

Amongst the displays are the role and contribution of Indonesian female peacekeepers, Indonesia’s capacity building programs for the Pacific and African countries and Palestine, as well as Indonesia’s humanitarian assistance to Myanmar.

The exhibition is being held at the South Wall of the UN Headquarters and will be on display for two weeks between May 6 and 7, 2019.

Ambassadors/Permanent Representatives of UN member states, including UN Security Council members and ASEAN member states, were present during the opening ceremony.

Reporter: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Editor: Suharto