TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan criticized the absence of the Indonesian President in United Nations (UN) forums in recent years. Anies voiced this during his inaugural national leadership meeting of the people's organization Gerakan Rakyat.
The former presidential candidate in the 2024 General Election regretted the minimal participation of the Indonesian leaders in UN forums. "Indonesia has been absent from UN meetings for years. The head of state never appears, always the foreign minister," Anies said at Hotel Aryaduta, Central Jakarta, on Sunday, July 13, 2025.
According to Anies, Indonesia could potentially suffer losses by frequently skipping UN meetings. As a country with the fourth largest population, Indonesia should strengthen its strategic position through meetings of state leaders on the international stage.
He also gave an analogy. "We are villagers, with the fourth largest house in the neighborhood. But if we never attend neighborhood meetings, we just keep paying the road dues," said the former education minister.
According to Anies, with its abundant population, Indonesia should be able to utilize it to develop the domestic market potential. Therefore, Anies emphasized that Indonesia needs to be more proactive in the international arena, one of which is by the Indonesian President directly attending UN forums.
In addition, Anies believes that Indonesia has a relatively more stable geopolitical condition compared to the conflict-prone regions of East and South Asia. This condition, according to Anies, makes Indonesia play a role in maintaining peace in the Asian region.
However, in order to fulfill that function, Anies Baswedan stated that Indonesia needs to first improve itself. For example, when Indonesia presses issues of democracy and human rights enforcement in the international arena, Indonesia must have already resolved these two issues. "We have to solve domestic issues as well," he said.
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