Jakarta. Dialogue-seeking Indonesia made its UN Security Council pitch when Foreign Minister Sugiono delivered an 18-minute speech at the organization’s New York headquarters on Saturday night local time.

The UN Security Council is the premier global body that passes resolutions on Gaza ceasefires and other pressing problems.

After talking about multilateralism and Indonesia's huge deployment of peacekeepers, Sugiono moved on to Jakarta’s candidature for a non-permanent seat for the 2029-2030 term. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy vowed to commit to unity and peace if elected.

“Fostering unity means rebuilding trust in the multilateral system and keeping channels of dialogue open. Advancing peace requires us to uphold international law and make effective use of the tools available to us,” Sugiono told the hall.

“Indonesia will work to keep dialogue open, build common ground, and turn shared responsibility into practical cooperation.”

Sugiono told the hall that Jakarta would uphold the UN Charter — the constitutional framework for everything the organization does —  to “maintain international peace and security”.

“We will bring the same principle that guides our foreign policy to engage with all and keep the space for cooperation open.”

Sugiono trumpeted Indonesia’s membership in multiple groupings such as the rich-country club G20, the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, the Russia-backed BRICS, the middle-power partnership MIKTA, as well as the D-8 that includes Iran.

The minister said Jakarta’s engagements in these clubs followed the principle that “a thousand friends is too few, one enemy is too many”.

This would be Indonesia’s fifth term at the council if it wins the polls. Countries are expected to vote by a secret ballot in 2028.

Indonesia was in the council for the 1973-1974, 1995-1996, 2007-2008, and 2019-2020 cycles. 

The US, the UK, France, Russia, and China are the council’s permanent members and possess the power to veto or tank any substantive resolution. It has ten non-permanent seats, with five members elected each year.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had pitched for a UN Security Council seat when he spoke from the same green podium earlier this week. Canberra set its sights on the same 2029-2030 term. Should the bid prove successful, Albanese promised that Australia would “listen with respect, partner as equals, and protect what matters most”.

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