Jakarta. Bringing Indonesia back to the UN Security Council is officially on the newly appointed Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir's to-do list.

In Thursday’s surprise cabinet shake-up, Arrmanatha got promoted from being the deputy foreign minister to Indonesia’s chief diplomat. The reshuffle came just a few days after his predecessor Sugiono announced at the UN that Indonesia sought to return to the organization’s security council as the 2029-2030 non-permanent member.

To the press, Arrmanatha described Jakarta's candidacy as its “commitment to play an active role in creating a safer and more stable world”.

“[The bid] shows our belief in the importance of multilateralism. We shall continue to use this opportunity to push for reforms to our multilateral system,” Arrmanatha said.

Sugiono — who is now the chief cultural affairs minister — expressed his confidence in passing the baton to Arrmanatha.

“I believe that he [Arrmanatha] can further advance Indonesia’s diplomacy,” Sugiono said, although an official handover ceremony has yet to take place.

The UN Security Council comprises 15 countries that meet to pass executive decisions, including peacekeeping operations and sanctions, in response to threats to world peace. It has passed ceasefire resolutions on Gaza, something that has also been a priority in Indonesia’s foreign policy.

The US, the UK, France, China, and Russia are the body’s permanent members and can veto a resolution. The rest are non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. Indonesia was part of the council for the 1973-1974, 1995-1996, 2007-2008, and 2019-2020 cycles.

Sugiono had just launched the council campaign when he spoke from the UN podium over the weekend.

His pitch put emphasis on dialogue-building, while citing Jakarta’s engagements with the G20, ASEAN, the Iran-backed D-8, among others.

“Indonesia will work to keep dialogue open, build common ground, and turn shared responsibility into practical cooperation,” Sugiono told the UN hall at the time.

The latest reshuffle means the ministry is now back under a career diplomat’s leadership.

Sugiono was previously a senior lawmaker and a close aide to President Prabowo Subianto before joining the government. Arrmanatha previously served as Indonesia’s permanent representative to the UN in New York.

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