REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and First Lady Iriana left here on Sunday morning for Paris, France, to attend the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21), which is also known as the Paris Climate Change Conference.
Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi told the press on Friday that President Jokowi would convey Indonesia's views on the climate change during the negotiation process of the Paris Climate Change Conference, early next week.
Jokowi will join 147 state leaders in the conference.
Minister Retno Marsudi said the head of state will deliver a three to five-minute statement. He will among other things express his political support to the success of the negotiation.
He will also explain Indonesia's strategic position as one of the countries having the world's largest forest areas.
Geographically, however, Indonesia is prone to the impacts of the climate change because it consists of more than 17 thousand islands, and around 70 percent of its total territory is water.
"That makes us vulnerable. And we as a developing country, still need adequate space to carry out the economic development," the minister said.
Besides, Indonesia has conveyed its commitment to the reduction of gas emission.
In the meantime, Minister/State Secretary Pratikno said President Jokowi is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with with some state leaders on the sidelines of the Paris conference.
The COP21 and the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) will take place from 30 November to 11 December 2015, in Paris.
The 2015 Paris Climate Conference will, for the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations, aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2'C.
France will play a leading international role in hosting this seminal conference, and COP21 will be one of the largest international conferences ever held in the country.
The conference is expected to attract close to 50,000 participants including 25,000 official delegates from government, intergovernmental organisations, UN agencies, NGOs and civil society.