“The President is not afraid,” Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anun said in response to rumors that the visit would be cancelled.
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AFP/POOL/MASSOUD HOSSAINI
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (second left) and Indonesian President “Jokowi” Joko Widodo (center) inspect the honour guard at the presidential palace in Kabul on Jan. 29, 2018, during Jokowi’s historic visit to the country.
On Saturday (27/1/2018) in Kabul, representatives of the Indonesian and Afghan governments discussed security plans in preparation for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s imminent state visit when a bomb hidden in an ambulance exploded. The attack, which was carried out by the Taliban and killed 103 people, immediately became the center of media attention.
In Jakarta, the explosion triggered speculation as to whether the President would cancel his visit – a visit that the two countries have been waiting for 57 years since President Soekarno’s visit in 1961. “The President is not afraid,” Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anun said in response to rumors that the visit would be cancelled.
State Secretary Pratikno said the President visited Afghanistan to show support for the country, which has been dogged by problems in recent history. The President’s visit also reaffirmed Indonesia’s leadership in international forums. “Afghanistan and Indonesia are responsible for the President’s security. There will be maximum security,” said Pratikno.
On Monday (29/1/2018) at 11:40 a.m. local time, the Indonesian presidential aircraft landed at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. A few hours before the plane was scheduled to land, the Marshal Fahim National Defense University campus, located around 20 kilometers from the airport, was attacked.
The situation led to the Afghan government preparing a number of panzers and two helicopters to escort President Jokowi and his entourage on the 6-kilometer journey from the airport to the Afghan Presidential Palace. The Afghan government had prepared a specialized panzer for President Jokowi, but the President decided to take a sedan instead. “The trip from the airport to the Presidential Palace was heart-pounding, despite the heavy security,” Pramono said.
In his meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, President Jokowi conveyed the Indonesian people’s condolences for the tragedy in Kabul. “I pray that the victims will recover soon. To those who were left behind, I hope you will be given strength and composure,” the President said.
He continued that his visit to Afghanistan was to reciprocate Ghani’s visit to Indonesia last year.
Peace
During the 6-hour visit, the President talked about possibilities for cooperation, especially in relation to peace building in Afghanistan. “Indonesia and Afghanistan will improve activities that can help the peace building and reconciliation processes,” the President said.
Indonesia has shown its support through establishing the Indonesia Islamic Center (IIC) in Kabul. The complex serves as a symbol of the friendship between Indonesia and Afghanistan. Indonesia plans to establish a health clinic in the complex this year. Earlier, Indonesia established the As-Salam Mosque for Afghans in 2015.
President Jokowi and President Ghani also talked about peace building supported by economic development. “Without peace, there will be no prosperity. Without prosperity, peace will not be everlasting. Therefore, as we are cooperating on building peace, we also need to increase our economic cooperation in parallel,” President Jokowi said.
“Your Excellency does not need to bring gold when visiting us. Only rain and snow. Rain and snow are a blessing for us. Rain and snow never chooses whether to fall on the rich or on the poor,” President Ghani said in his speech.
Other than with the Afghan President, President Jokowi also held peace building talks for Afghanistan with the Afghan High Peace Council chairman, Karim Khalili.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that the Afghan government was highly grateful for Indonesia’s visit amid the numerous troubles the country was facing. On numerous occasions, Afghan officials also stated that President Jokowi was an exemplary leader in the Muslim world.
This statement was inseparable from Indonesia’s position as the most populous Muslim nation in the world, and that it had successfully developed democracy and nurtured diversity. Not many other countries had been able to achieve this.
Retno said that Ghani hoped Indonesian businesspeople would help improve the skills of their Afghan counterparts in boosting exports.
International relations lecturer Ayusia Sabhita of Jenderal Soedirman Unversity said in Purwokerto that Afghanistan remembered its good relationship with Indonesia. In recent months, several important Afghan figures visited Indonesia to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Through this series of visits, Afghanistan had conveyed its hope that Indonesia could help it resolve the country’s conflicts.
Afghanistan and many other Muslim-majority countries acknowledged Indonesia’s peace-building skills. “Afghanistan wishes to learn about peace building and religious conflict resolution from Indonesia, which is known for its moderate Islam,” Ayusia said.
Another capital that could help conflict resolution in Afghanistan was Indonesia’s success in helping manage the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar. While the Myanmarese government had rejected assistance from many other countries, it still provided access to Indonesia to deliver aid packages to Rohingya refugees.
Ayusia said that Indonesia’s initiative in pushing for economic cooperation would be important to the peace process in Afghanistan, as building peace required both political and economic transformation. At the same time, Indonesia needed the economic cooperation to boost its Indo-Pacific narrative, South-South cooperation and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
All of this was initiated during a 6-hour visit while Kabul was in the midst of terror attacks by various militant groups.
