INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - The Burkina Faso government expressed appreciation to Indonesia for the role of the Indonesian peacekeepers in maintaining security in the country, according to the Foreign Ministry press release received in Jakarta on Friday (30/3/2018).

The award was presented at a meeting between Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Permanent Representative Burkina Faso on the sidelines of the UN Security Council Open Debate in New York, USA.

At the meeting, the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed Indonesia's commitment to cooperate with Burkina Faso and other African countries.

"This commitment is the basic position of Indonesia since the Asian-African Conference 1955," said Retno.

The Burkina Faso government appreciates Indonesia's substantial contribution to the promotion of peace and security, particularly through the role of Indonesian peacekeeping forces at the UN.

Furthermore, the opportunity was also used by Foreign Minister Retno to convey Indonesia's plan to host the Indonesia-Africa Forum in April 2018 as a concrete step in strengthening economic cooperation between Indonesia and African countries.

Previously, Foreign Minister Retno conveyed Indonesia's view in the Open UNSC Open debate with the theme "Collective Action to Improve UN Peacekeeping Operations".

The Foreign Minister was given the opportunity to be the first speaker after 15 UNSC members spoke.

The open debate was organized under the Dutch presidency at the UN Security Council. The meeting was chaired by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as the exposer. A total of 13 ministerial-level officials and 69 UN member states participated in the open debate.