MUHAMMADIYAH.OR.ID, JAKARTA – Muhammadiyah reaffirmed its readiness to strengthen civil diplomacy and align national interests with people-centered global engagement.
The statement came during a courtesy visit from Prasetyo Hadi, newly appointed Expert Staff for Inter-Institutional Cooperation at Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu), to the Muhammadiyah Central Board on Wednesday (29/10).
Prasetyo was received by Syafiq A. Mughni, Chairperson of Muhammadiyah Central Board (PP Muhammadiyah), along with Yayah Khisbiyah, Secretary of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (LHKI) PP Muhammadiyah, and Andi Faisal Bakti, a member of LHKI PP Muhammadiyah.
Syafiq emphasized that Muhammadiyah has several strategic programs ready for collaborative follow-up with national and international partners. Among them are humanitarian initiatives under Muhammadiyah Aid (MuAid), Department of Charity Management (Lazismu), and the Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center (MDMC), which was recently verified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as Indonesia’s first Emergency Medical Team (EMT) to receive international accreditation.
Meanwhile, Yayah Khisbiyah outlined LHKI’s flagship initiatives currently underway, including humanitarian diplomacy efforts through the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) network. These programs focus on strengthening partnerships in key global issues such as Palestine and peacebuilding.
“For example, LHKI and MuAid have initiated the Peacebuilding Lab for Palestine in Palestine and Jordan, empowering Palestinian youth and women through dialogue, nonviolent mediation, psychosocial support, and economic empowerment,” Yayah explained.
She also introduced the Muhammadiyah Diplomacy Training (MDT) program, a regular semester-based training in universities across Indonesia. The latest batch, themed “Green Diplomacy and Humanitarian Engagement,” was held in Yogyakarta and focused on multilateral, digital, and environmental diplomacy.
Muhammadiyah also plans to expand its environmental initiatives through the Muhammadiyah Climate Center (MCC) to promote renewable energy and ecological awareness.
Another major focus, Yayah added, is expanding collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to highlight humanitarian, environmental, and peace issues through Muhammadiyah’s Islam Berkemajuan (Progressive Islam) perspective.
“In addition, interfaith and intercultural dialogues, conducted jointly with international partners, continue to be strengthened to promote religious moderation and global tolerance,” she said.
During the discussion, Prasetyo and the Muhammadiyah delegation also addressed pressing global challenges such as climate change, humanitarian crises, pluralism, and Indonesia’s role as a hub of Islamic moderation and a strategic global partner.
Prasetyo expressed appreciation for Muhammadiyah’s long-standing contribution to Indonesia’s diplomacy, recognizing it as a modern Islamic organization with significant impact both domestically and internationally.
He also announced that cooperation between the Kemenlu and Muhammadiyah will be further institutionalized under the new Ministerial Regulation No. 24 of 2025. which enhances collaboration frameworks between civil organizations and the state’s external diplomacy.
Concluding the meeting, Andi Faisal Bakti, who also serves as a professor at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta, noted that Muhammadiyah’s international civil diplomacy will continue to grow stronger through academic, research and advocacy initiatives, particularly under the Ambassador Talk Muhammadiyah program. (Bintang Adrian)
