Jayapura, Jubi – Prime Minister Joe Natuman said today that while his government valued all its diplomatic relations, including that with Indonesia, any decision to establish a foreign embassy, in any country for that matter, has to be a policy decision of the government of the day.
To clarify Vanuatu’s position in light of what might have been reported in the international media, Tuesday (21/4/2015), Prime Minister Natuman said, “There is no such policy direction at present, as far as this government is concerned. We have more pressing issues to attend to right now as we recover from the aftermath of cyclone Pam
Prime Minister Natuman has called on the Indonesian media not to read too much into comments purportedly made by Vanuatu’s foreign minister regarding the establishment of a Vanuatu Embassy in Indonesia.
“Given our firm position on West Papua and stance against alleged human rights abuses there, Vanuatu will need to weigh all sides of the coin before embarking on any future plans to take its diplomatic relations with Indonesia to the next level,” said PM Natuman.
The prime minister was officially invited to attend the 60th Anniversary of the Asian African Conference and the 10th Anniversary of the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership in Jakarta and Bandung. He opted to send his Foreign Minister instead because of the current situation the country is going through and the recovery efforts the government is spearheading with all its stakeholders.
It appears the focus of the conference has been miscued by the foreign media. (*)
