Jakarta (ANTARA) - Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi on Friday said that her next role as Special Envoy on Water to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is a major mandate to highlight water issues at the global level.Marsudi will take over her special envoy duties on November 1, 2024, after completing her tenure as foreign minister in President Joko Widodo's administration.
"Some of the mandates given to me include strengthening partnerships and joint efforts to advance the water agenda, including following up on the outcomes of the 2023 UN Water Conference," she said in a statement issued on Friday, following an announcement from the UN Secretary-General regarding her appointment as special envoy.
As a special envoy, she will seek to enhance international cooperation and synergies among international water processes to support the achievement of water-related goals and targets, such as Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In addition, her role will include advocating for making water issues the main political agenda--both within and outside the UN--as well as mobilizing action and funding to address the global water crisis and encourage the fulfillment of water-related targets.
Marsudi highlighted that her upcoming role is very important because currently, 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services and 4.5 billion people do not have access to safe sanitation services.
Moreover, failure to address water and sanitation issues would not only weaken aspects of sustainable development, including society, economy, and environment, but also have an impact on the sustainability of peace, development, and human rights.
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She further said that she is the first Indonesian to be appointed to the post as well as the first person to serve as a special envoy for water issues.
According to Marsudi, her appointment was made via consultation with President Widodo, who gave her his blessings to carry out her new duties.
"President-elect Prabowo Subianto also gave his full support for this appointment," she added.
She further said that she will use her experience of almost 40 years as a diplomat and 10 years as a foreign minister to the maximum to discharge her duties at the UN level.