Brazil — Starting his working visit to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto held a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday (11/17) at 12:30 p.m. local time. The two discussed various issues, from Palestine to global climate change.

Prabowo personally welcomed António’s arrival and posed for photos in front of the Indonesian flag and the UN flag. Both also greeted the media covering this bilateral meeting.

In this meeting, Prabowo expressed his full commitment to supporting all UN efforts on various global issues, such as food security, poverty, human rights violations, and international law, especially concerning Palestine.

“We have previously stated our willingness to support the deployment of peacekeeping forces should a ceasefire occur and if there is an international mandate for such forces. We are ready to contribute,” said Prabowo.

The UN Secretary-General stated in this meeting that Indonesia is regarded as a country that has successfully played a vital role in summits aimed at preparing for future reforms.

“Indonesia’s role, which has now become a crucial international partner, is very important to us in our efforts to achieve greater justice, equality, and more capacity to support developing countries still facing crises,” said the UN Secretary-General.

Regarding the Palestinian issue, the UN Secretary-General agreed with Indonesia on the need to establish a Palestinian state and the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people.

“We also have very strong cooperation regarding the situation in the Middle East, where I believe that these countries are fully committed to the absolute necessity of forming a Palestinian state and ensuring self-determination for the Palestinian people,” said the UN Secretary-General.

On climate change, Prabowo stated that Indonesia is very committed and ambitious in working on renewable and environmentally friendly energy.

“We have been developing technology to produce solar energy from plants, specifically palm oil. We are also developing technology to produce gasoline from palm oil,” said Prabowo.

Accompanying Prabowo in this meeting were Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Foreign Minister Sugiono, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Djiwandono, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, and Indonesian Ambassador to Brazil Edi Yusup.

Meanwhile, accompanying the UN Secretary-General were Aguinaldo Baptista, Principal Political Affairs Officer; Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General; António Guterres, UN Secretary-General; Silvia Rucks, UN Resident Coordinator; and Michelle Gyles McDonnough, Director of the Sustainable Development Unit. (RR)