Diplomats, security experts and academics from Fiji and Indonesia have been discussing ways to co-operate in the field of international peacekeeping.
A panel discussion on Indonesia's Kompas TV regarding peace and stability in the Pacific region had a specific focus on the perspectives of Indonesia and Fiji security.
One of the panellists, Fiji's Ambassador to Indonesia, Amena Yauvoli, spoke about the long-running involvement of Fiji troops in global peacekeeping operations.
But he also voiced concern that developing countries like Fiji are increasingly unable to equip their forces, and that they required assistance.
"If this assistance is not forthcoming, then peacekeeping is confined to only a select few, mainly from developed nations," he said.
"I guess this is one of the important issues that Indonesia and Fiji can discuss, the importance of standby arrangements where we can be able to reach some form of understanding on where we can jointly have a platform or a Memorandum of Understanding to support our joint efforts in global peacekeeping."
Amena Yauvoli Photo: RNZI
Stressing the need for international co-operation in this space, Yauvoli said Fiji would support an enlarged membership of the UN Security Council.
He also noted how security co-operation between Pacific countries had proven successful in achieving peace, such as the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands in the early 2000s.
"This is a model that we see in a sub-region of the Asia Pacific region that has worked in the South Pacific, a model that we can use at our regional level, should the the discussion arise.
Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, a Senior Researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, noted Fiji's proud history of peacekeeping.
She said Indonesia's priority was to obtain domestic stability first before it could contribute to international peacekeeping.
As part of this she said Indonesia's government was prioritising continued economic and human development in Papua region.
Indonesia and Fiji continue to exchange visits to each other for peacekeepers on training and capacity building programmes.
The panel also included Lt Col Herly Sinaga from from the Indonesian Peacekeeping Center
The Indonesian Peacekeeping Center was established in 2007 in response to increasing demand from the UN.
Lt Colonel Sinaga discussed Indonesia's evolving approach to peacekeeping, including how to meet the challenge of increasing female representation in peacekeeping operations.
She said since 2007 Indonesia deployed more than 47-thousand peacekeepers, of which over 600 are females.
