Head of the State Secretariat Ministry’s Foreign Technical Cooperation Bureau Noviyanti and Deputy Director for Consular Affairs at the Foreign Affairs Ministry Bimo Ariawan speaking on official foreign travel, Thursday (3/2/2023). Photo by MKRI/Lulu A.

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Thursday, March 2, 2023 | 17:59 WIB

BEKASI (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court’s (MK) ever-expanding role in the global community encouraged the staff members of the Registrar’s Office and the Secretariat-General to improve their capacity. One of the ways was through the International Relations Workshop on Thursday-Sunday, March 2-5, 2023 in Bekasi, West Java. Staff members of the international relations department, secretaries of the constitutional justices, expert assistants to the constitutional justices, and representatives of the Court’s work units attended the workshop.

On Thursday, March 2, Head of the State Secretariat Ministry’s Foreign Technical Cooperation Bureau Noviyanti and Deputy Director for Consular Affairs at the Foreign Affairs Ministry Bimo Ariawan spoke at the workshop. Bimo Ariawan gave a presentation on the issuance of official foreign travel documents and highlighted the application AEPSILON for this particular service. He also talked about other services that his directorate provides, such as the issuance of official passports and official foreign travel documents for holders of diplomatic and official passports, the issuance of diplomatic and official visa for foreign nationals on official trips to Indonesia, as well as consultation service for foreign nationals on official trips to Indonesia.

He also explained the legal bases for official foreign trips, such as the Foreign Affairs Minister’s Regulation (Permenlu) No. 2 of 2019.

“Official passports can be applied by civil servants, members of the Indonesian military and police, and staff members of state institutions, as is regulated in the 1945 Constitution. This include officials of state institutions formed under legislation and members of state institutions formed under legislation,” he said alongside moderator Head of the AACC Permanent Secretariat and International Relations Department Sri Handayani.

Bimo explained that official passport applications may be declined for the absence of the approval letter by the Ministry of State Secretariat. He revealed an instance where the applicant included a photo of their child in place of the letter. “This is a ground for decline,” he said before fifty-eight participants of the workshop.

Official Foreign Travel

Meanwhile, Head of the State Secretariat Ministry’s Foreign Technical Cooperation Bureau Noviyanti explained the ministry’s five major agendas on approval for official foreign travel (PDLN) for all state institutions and ministries. The bureau also manages international cooperation. “If, for example, the Constitutional Court wishes to make an application to facilitate the judicial and legislative system. We can cooperate with donors. We are currently coordinating with over 200 donors,” she said.

The management of summits is also part of the bureau’s responsibility. The bureau will be in cooperation with the Foreign Affairs Ministry to prepare for summits, such as the ASEAN Summit in May 2023.

Noviyanti also revealed the bureau’s policies on official foreign travel. She recommended that state agencies/ministries adjust the size of the delegation for efficiency. She said her bureau would request the agency/ministry to review the travel application in terms of urgency, substance, relevance, and delegation size. “[The agency/ministry] will be asked to review the application or it may be declined,” she said.

She also recommended that the application be filed through SIMPEL application no later than seven days prior to departure. Applications are processed by the bureau within three days, she added, after the required documents are complete and the points for assessment are met.

During the Q&A session, Head of the International Affairs Division Immanuel Hutasoit said the Court had received interns from Australia and the United States in several occasions. He also asked whether his division could collaborate with the Foreign Technical Cooperation Bureau to disseminate information overseas so that more students intern in the Court. “We may collaborate so that the Court can receive more interns from overseas,” he said.

Responding to the question, Noviyanti said the Court must report to the Foreign Affair Ministry’s Directorate of Diplomatic Security before accepting foreign interns. “If [these interns] cannot enter [Indonesia] with a tourist visa, they could enter with a student visa. So, [the Court] should report it to the [Directorate of Diplomatic Security],” she said.

The workshop present speakers from the Foreign Affair Ministry and the State Secretariat Ministry, who talk about official foreign travel, and from Lembaga Bahasa Internasional of the Faculty of Humanities of Universitas Indonesia (LBI FIB UI), who talk about legal and journalistic translation.

Author       : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 3/7/2023 09:33 WIB

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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