REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DEPOK - The Middle East holds deeper value for Indonesia as hundreds of thousands of Indonesian migrant workers and hajj pilgrims visit the region every year, the minister pointed out.

according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi on Thursday.

"The Middle East has significance in the Indonesian foreign policy that is strategized on the four main pillars," she remarked without further elaboration.

"The Middle East is also a good market where we must strengthen our position by improving the national economy," she stated in her address at an international seminar titled "Conflicts and Democratization in the Middle East" at the Al-Hikam Islamic Boarding School here.

Moreover, Marsudi expressed hope that the peaceful Middle East has positive impacts on Indonesian nationals living there. Effects of Indonesia's support to the struggle of Palestinians had also been felt comprehensively, she stated. The minister further said that Indonesia had put in a lot of efforts to end violence in the region by playing an active role in both the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

Marsudi was inaugurated as the foreign minister on Monday, replacing Marty Natalegawa. She is the first woman to hold the post of the Indonesian foreign minister. Earlier, she was the Indonesian Ambassador to the Netherlands.

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