Indonesia Aiming to be Among Key Contributors of Peacekeeping Forces

Jakarta (Antara) - Indonesia is keen to be among the ten major contributors of peacekeeping forces in the world in the next one or two years' time. "Currently, Indonesia is ranked 17th in the world, but in the next one or two years' time, we intend to be among the ten biggest contributors," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated while inaugurating the Indonesia Peace and Security Center in Sentul, West Java, on Monday afternoon. He explained that in order to achieve this goal, Indonesia has set up the IPSC in Sentul, which is a center for preparing the forces that will take part in peacekeeping missions across the world as mandated by the country's 1945 Constitution. President Yudhoyono elaborated that Indonesia has already deployed two thousand personnel for peacekeeping purposes, but in order to meet the target, two thousand additional forces will be required. The IPSC has seven main facilities, such as the TNI Peacekeeping Mission Center, the TNI Operations Ready Forces Command, the Indonesia Defense University, the Indonesia Military Sports Committee, the Anti-Terrorism and De-radicalization Training Center, the Center of Disaster Management Training and Education, and the Center of Language Diplomacy and Strategy Development. The IPSC sits on a 261.569 hectare plot of land. (*)