The 2024 Indonesia-Pacific Parliamentary Partnership (IPPP) Forum was held in Indonesia from 25-26 July 2024. The forum, which was attended by parliaments from various countries in the Pacific region, was formed with the aim of strengthening cooperation in facing global challenges.
A number of parliaments from countries in the Pacific region are the Cook Islands, Federation of Micronesia, Republic of Fiji, French Polynesia, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Salomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
IPPP was inaugurated on July 23 2018, formed with the aim of strengthening cooperation and dialogue between the parliaments of Pacific countries and the DPR RI. The initiative is designed to address regional challenges such as human development and maritime sustainability through legislative collaboration and inter-parliamentary relations.
The first IPPP meeting in 2018 marked an important step in building legislative cooperation and interaction between Pacific countries. This meeting creates the basis for continued dialogue and collaborative steps to enhance connectivity and inclusive development in the region. Parliamentary diplomacy is seen as key in addressing pressing regional issues.
Meanwhile, the second meeting aimed to strengthen cooperation between parliaments, increase regional connectivity and promote sustainable development. Through regular dialogue, IPPP hopes to build a more connected and prosperous Pacific region, address shared challenges, and harness the potential of the Pacific Ocean for the good of all member countries.
On this occasion, President Joko Widodo said he really appreciated the Indonesia-Pacific Parliamentary partnership as a strategic initiative to strengthen partnerships in the Pacific. According to him, it is very important to strengthen this partnership, especially now that all parties are facing big challenges, both in terms of economic uncertainty, egopolitical tensions between big powers, the threat of climate change and various crises.
The head of state continued that Parliamentary cooperation could be utilized to overcome various experiences in finding joint solutions because parliament is a bridge between people’s aspirations and public policy. He also believes that through strong collaboration, Indonesia and Pacific countries can maintain stability and achieve prosperity in the Pacific region.
Meanwhile, Chair of the Indonesian People’s Representative Council (DPR RI), Puan Maharani, said that in the context of the IPPP, the DPR RI is ready to share experience, knowledge and best practices with the parliaments of Pacific countries, especially regarding the functions of parliament, namely legislation, budgeting and supervision.
Not only that, the DPR RI is ready to help develop the blue economy, connectivity in the Pacific region and overcome the impacts of climate change. Regarding inclusive development in the Pacific, I encourage women’s empowerment. This can be done by increasing women’s participation in politics and in holding public office.
According to him, parliamentary diplomacy must be able to encourage countries in the Pacific to prioritize cooperation rather than uni-lateral policies, collaboration and not conflict. And a mutually beneficial relationship.
The results of the 2nd IPPP will be input for The 53rd Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting or PIF Summit which will be held on 26-30 August 2024 in Tonga.
As archipelagic countries, Indonesia and Pacific countries face similar geographic and environmental constraints as well as climate change. However, vast ocean areas also offer great opportunities for cooperation in the fields of marine resource management and sustainable development. IPPP seeks to take advantage of this opportunity to encourage growth and sustainability in the region and is committed to exploiting maritime potential for economic growth and social development.
The IPPP forum has been completed, a number of parliamentary representatives from participating countries expressed their appreciation to the Indonesian government regarding the holding of this international forum. They consider that Indonesia’s existence for Pacific countries cannot be doubted, especially in various regional and international forums in the development of human resources (HR) and coastal communities.
Countries in the Pacific region really need strong and sustainable partnership relations with other countries, including Indonesia. At the Parliamentary level, the involvement of Indonesia and Pacific countries has been established through inter-parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF).
Indonesia has been involved in improving relations with Pacific countries through various multilateral frameworks, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the Melanesian Group (MSG), the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) and others.
Currently, Indonesia is a member of the G-20, which in the next few decades is expected to become one of the four influential countries in the world economy. This shows that countries in the Pacific region are not only united by similar geographical conditions, potential natural resources, and diversity of human resource backgrounds, but also similarities in the challenges and problems they face.
It is hoped that the partnership between Indonesia and countries in the Asia Pacific region will provide mutual peace and tranquility to build a more advanced Pacific Region.
We hope that the IPPP forum can become a forum for strengthening cooperation between Pacific parliaments and producing various strategic recommendations in facing global challenges. It is also hoped that this forum will be the first step towards closer and more sustainable cooperation between countries in the Pacific region.
