REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized the importance of democracy, equality, and respect for human rights in the Asian-African region and across the world.

"We want to see a stable democracy as well as equality and respect for human rights in Asian and African countries," Marsudi noted during an opening speech at the Asian-African Ministerial Meeting (AAMM) on Monday (20/4).

She also reiterated the importance of cooperation among countries in Asia and Africa in order to achieve common prosperity.

"Growth in Asian-African countries is a must. Indonesia is ready to contribute and join in it," Marsudi noted.

The AAMM, which is scheduled to take place from 9:20 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time, is a follow-up of the Senior Official Meeting (SOM), which was held on Sunday (April 19).

Earlier, the SOM of the Asian-African Conference (AAC) had only agreed to the Declaration for Palestine as one of the three documents to be discussed, spokesman for the Indonesian Foreign Ministry Arrmanatha Nasir stated.

"At the SOM discussion this time, there are two paragraphs in the Bandung Message and three paragraphs in the Declaration of Reinvigorating the NAASP (New Asian-African Strategic Partnership), which still need to be further discussed. However, the Declaration for Palestine has been approved by the SOM," Nasir remarked here on Sunday.

The Declaration for Palestine had been agreed upon earlier than the two other documents as it did not necessitate the addition of new issues, he added.

"The Declaration for Palestine has been in existence since long. The Declaration for Palestine reaffirms Asian-African countries' support to Palestine's efforts to gain independence," he affirmed.

"The issue of Palestine is over. Surely, no country will be opposed to the issue of Palestine. Today, no paragraph was added to it (the Declaration for Palestine)," he noted.

He stated that several issues related to the Bandung Message and the Declaration of Reinvigorating the NAASP had not been agreed upon during the SOM on Sunday.

"There are two types of issues that we have not yet agreed upon. They are related to the revision of the sentence and not the addition of substance but instead to ensure clarity in the substance. So, we will give them an opportunity to complete them," he added.

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