CHAIRMAN of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, attended the MIKTA parliament meeting (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Australia), which are middle power countries. Apart from encouraging the resolution of disputes in Gaza, Puan spoke about global economic challenges and migrant issues in this forum.
MIKTA Speakers’ Consultation itself is a consultative meeting forum between the Speakers of the Parliaments of Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Australia. MIKTA Speakers’ Consultation this time was held in Mexico on Monday (6/5/2024) afternoon local time.
At the 10th MIKTA Speakers’ Consultation, the Mexican parliament as host carried the theme ‘The Coordinated Action of Parliaments to Build a More Peaceful, Equitable, and Fair World’ or ‘Coordinated Parliamentary Action to Build a More Peaceful, Balanced and Fair World’. Fair’.
Puan also chaired the third session at the consultation of the heads of parliaments of MIKTA member countries which discussed ‘Trade as a Means to Improve Sustainable Development and Shared Prosperity’.
“Even though we are faced with uncertain conditions, it is still hoped that trade can be a driving force for improving people’s welfare and alleviating poverty,” said Puan.
Puan also highlighted data from the IMF which states that world economic growth will reach 3.2% in 2024 and 2025. Meanwhile, trade volume growth in 2024 according to the WTO is projected to increase by 2.6%.
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“It can be seen that despite facing many challenges, be it geopolitical tensions, the climate crisis, or technological disruption, world trade flows can still grow positively,” he said.
Puan said that trade issues cannot be separated from global geopolitical dynamics. Great power rivalry has also caused several countries to implement decoupling, friend-shoring, de-risking policies.
“This policy has led to fragmentation of international trade. “War and tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine have also disrupted global supply chains, including for food and agricultural products, and oil supplies,” said Puan.
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Furthermore, Puan spoke about various global economic challenges ranging from new forms of globalization which cannot be separated from global geopolitical developments due to changes in trade patterns between countries, to the decentralization of international trade which has caused international trade flows to increase between countries in the region.
“This new change in international trade patterns opens up opportunities for MIKTA member countries to further increase their trade flows. “However, all this must be done in line with WTO rules,” said the former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture.
“From MIKTA’s perspective, we hope that WTO rules can facilitate increased trade flows for middle powers, such as MIKTA, whose economy is still developing,” continued Puan.
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With a population exceeding 500 million people, the five MIKTA countries are considered to be able to contribute positively to the global economy. According to Puan, each MIKTA country economy must also be able to play an important role as part of the global supply chain.
“As a cross-regional partnership, MIKTA must be a bridge between developed and developing countries in the negotiation process at the WTO. “Each MIKTA country has its own economic potential and can complement each other,” he said.
In this context, Puan conveyed Indonesia’s perspective which hopes that efforts to achieve environmental protection goals through trade policy must take into account the different levels of development of countries.
“Don’t let efforts to protect the environment be used as an excuse to carry out acts of disguised trade protectionism,” stressed Puan.
“I invite MIKTA member parliaments to strengthen their joint commitment to a multilateral trading system that is non-discriminatory, fair, open and inclusive. “Only in this way can trade play a role in achieving global development goals (SDGs),” he added.
Then in session 4 of the 10th MIKTA Speakers’ Consultation which discussed the increasing flow of international migration, Puan spoke about the need for concrete solutions and steps to overcome this problem.
This is because migration occurs every day throughout the world. Migrants are said to have to make the most difficult decision of their lives by leaving their homes and countries in search of a safer and better life.
“There is a need to share burdens and responsibilities with countries most affected by migration flows. “As an inter-regional collaboration, MIKTA is said to have an important position in strengthening migration governance through the implementation of the Global Migration Compact to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration,” explained Puan.
The first woman to serve as Chair of the Republic of Indonesia’s DPR also encouraged MIKTA to work together in promoting migrant integration policies into host country society and social inclusion. Puan said this step was to improve the domestic situation regarding migrant issues.
“As part of the international community, we must all look for collective solutions and steps to protect human rights,” emphasized Puan.
On that occasion, Puan touched on the steps taken by Indonesia, even though it is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention. Indonesia is said to consistently prioritize a humanitarian approach and apply human rights principles.
“This has been demonstrated, among other things, in providing humanitarian assistance and facilitating temporary shelter for 1,900 Rohingya refugees, as well as handling more than 12,000 other refugees in Indonesia,” explained Bung Karno’s grandson.
Puan also said that the priority for managing migration issues in Indonesia also focuses on Protection Diplomacy. Especially for Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI).
“Namely, requiring the safety and fulfillment of the rights of PMI and their families throughout the migration cycle,” said Puan.
For your information, by 2023 more than 110 million people will be forced to flee their hometowns. As many as 40% or around 43 million of them are children, and 48% are women. These migrants are displaced due to conflict and war, persecution and violence.
Some migrants also look for economic opportunities to survive. Many are also fleeing their countries to avoid the increasingly dangerous impacts of climate change. Over the last 10 years, at least more than 63 thousand people lost their lives while migrating.
“This condition demands collective action from all of us to manage migration flows in the form of movement of people, and protect human rights,” said Puan.
“This is done by dividing responsibilities fairly and effectively by strengthening cooperation between countries of origin, transit countries and destination countries,” he added.
In parallel, MIKTA is considered to be able to contribute to overcoming the root causes of irregular migration. Among other things, according to Puan, by increasing development assistance for countries with high levels of migration (countries of origin) to improve the welfare of their people.
“In the Southeast Asia region, especially within the ASEAN framework, we ensure official routes for the safe movement of migrants. “This is in accordance with the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Strengthening of the Rights of Migrant Workers,” he said.
At Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2023, commitment to this was strengthened through a new declaration protecting migrant workers and their families during the crisis. Indonesia also encourages the protection of migrants’ rights through cooperation with the Bali Process, which is a joint initiative with Australia to address people smuggling, human trafficking crimes (TPPO), and related transnational crimes in the Asia Pacific.
“Regarding the role of parliament, the DPR RI as the host of the 44th ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) General Session in 2023 led the commitment of Southeast Asian parliaments in pushing for a solution to the political and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar,” said Puan.
Therefore, Puan is pushing for legislative products that focus on protecting migrants through laws or ratification of related international frameworks.
“Multilateral discussions on migration governance focus largely on its impact on development. “However, we must not ignore the importance of a human rights perspective in this discussion,” he said.
Puan emphasized that parliament needs to guarantee migration policies that are inclusive and based on human rights and ensure that human rights principles are reflected in international migration governance.
“Through parliamentary diplomacy, I invite all of us to contribute to formulating migration policies and realizing migration governance with a human rights dimension,” concluded Puan.
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