Edition 6: Indonesian Diplomacy in Action in Ukraine and Russia
Indonesian Diplomacy in Action in Ukraine and Russia
On Tuesday June 29th, President Jokowi attended a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, shortly after attending the G7 meeting in Germany. The visit was followed by a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow the very next day.
Jokowi discussed the enactment of a safe corridor for Ukraine’s grain exports, which have been hindered due to Russian blockades and has resulted in massive impacts on global food supplies. Negotiations for the corridor have been met with pessimism from Ukrainian negotiators.
Analysts have criticized Jokowi due to a lack of guarantees demanded to Russia regarding the establishment of a humanitarian corridor, with many pointing out that Russian forces have violated similar agreements before.
Currently Russia has just announced a withdrawal from Snake Island, which may ensure the safety of grain shipments from the port city of Odessa.
The current Russo-Ukrainian conflict has put Indonesia in a tough spot ahead of this year’s G20 Summit in Bali, with Putin’s attendance being a major pain point for many Western leaders.
Indonesia has extended an invitation to both Russia and Ukraine in accordance with Indonesia’s foreign policy of active neutrality. So far, however, Putin has rejected all invitations to meet with President Zelenskyy.
It is clear that Indonesia is trying to remain neutral for both parties to ensure a smooth Summit. But as the conflict rages, it remains to be seen if Indonesia could continue to maintain its current geopolitical balancing act.
📧 Tell us what you think!
What’s your take on Indonesia’s peacekeeping ambitions in Eastern Europe? Write down your opinions in our Pen Pal section!
What Is Up, Indonesia?
🌎 Politics & International Relations
Calls grow for the legalization of medical marijuana: The issue of medical marijuana was thrusted into the spotlight after a photo went viral of a woman pleading for legal concessions for the drug in order to ease the suffering experienced by her daughter who has cerebral palsy.
Parliament passes controversial law to create more provinces in Papua: Indonesia's Parliament passed legislation on Thursday to create three new provinces in Papua, a move critics say would further complicate efforts towards a peaceful resolution to the seperatist conflict and erode Papua’s special autonomy powers.
Jailed ex-Garuda chief named a suspect in new graft case: A former Garuda Indonesia chief convicted of corruption is being investigated for alleged irregularities in procuring Bombardier and ATR planes that led to led to US$600 million in losses
📈 Economics & Business
New visas announced for foreigners to boost economic development: Minister for Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly announced the creation of a new visa system that will make it easier for foreigners to live in the country and contribute to economic growth.
Economic cooperation with United Arab Emirates ramped up: Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates signed a new free trade agreement, removing or sharply reducing tariffs on most goods traded between the two countries.
🏛️ Society & Culture
Holywings bar chain shut after blasphemy charges over drinks promotion: The Jakarta City administration stripped Holywings of its operating permit after police charged six employees with blasphemy over a promotion offering free drinks for people named Muhammad or Maria
Komodo National Park ticket to be Rp3.75 million starting August: Komodo National Park is set to impose a new entrance fee of Rp3.75 million per person starting August. Previously, the ticket price of the park started from Rp5,000 per person for Indonesian citizens and Rp150,000 for foreign tourists.
🌳 Science, Environment & Health
Indonesia to issue quota-based fisheries policy in July: The Indonesian government will issue a decree that manages the country’s marine fisheries based on capture quotas, prompting concerns from experts that the new strategy may threaten the sustainability of fish stocks.
What We're Reading
Rising food and essential goods prices globally are the hot topics behind this year’s G7 Summit. In Indonesia, too, we are still experiencing a shortage of cooking oil and rising gas prices, which in other places have led to rough consequences.
A Wave of unrest is coming. Here’s how to avert some of it. “Averting the coming explosions will be hard. A good start would be to scrap policies that discourage food production, such as price controls and export curbs. Farmers in countries like Tunisia leave fertile land unploughed because they have to sell their crop to the state for a pittance. Governments should let farmers reap what they sow.” - The Economist
Pen Pal
Q: hey wiui heads! im 17F and have been in love w my best friend (18F 🕳) for years now. i’ve confessed to her a loong time ago and got friendzoned lol 😵💫 but sometime after that, we each got into new schools and rarely met up (esp due to the pandemic) but still talked 2 each other a lot. soon after, i slowly moved on HOWEVER now that we’ve both graduated high school, we’ve been frequently meeting up and my feelings came back 😐😐 i honestly also think we’re now closer than ever ?? but then a few days ago, i found out she kissed someone and now i feel like death humanized :< im so so sad PLZ help me get over her its getting insane i havent been thinking straight (ha no pun intended) these past few days 💔 like i’ve been ignoring her texts and everything too but she keeps running around in my mind GET ME OUT OF HEEEEREEEEE
A: I think it’s always hard to feel being led on by a person only to hit a brick wall when you find out they’re not into you. But at some point you just need to accept it and move on, because she had plenty of time to reciprocate your feelings towards her (I mean like she had two chances💀). It’s not easy, but I think moving on is a healthy (albeit hard) choice you need to make since you shouldn’t keep knocking on someone’s door when they clearly don’t want to let you in.
~ Cult Leader Mike
Communicate with us!
We here at WIUI LOVE connecting to our community. The pen pal section is a way for you guys to communicate with us, and for us to communicate with you!
Tell us your hot take, give us recommendations, ask us questions about sociopolitics, or request advice about your love life here. We also welcome feedback!
Join our community!
Disclaimer: We are not professionals. We are prone to bias and error so please verify and double-check everything! We highly encourage you to do your own research.