Joint Communiqué

Final

13 December 2017

1. We, the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey and Indonesia, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, the Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico – comprising MIKTA – met today in Istanbul. This was the 11th meeting of MIKTA Foreign Ministers since the inauguration of MIKTA in 2013.

2. MIKTA represents a diverse group of countries with different cultural, historical and religious backgrounds, located in different corners of the world. Yet, our shared values and interests, which transcend our diversity, make MIKTA an influential voice in the international community.

3. We emphasize the need to respect the territorial integrity, political unity and sovereignty of states, and enhance democratic and economic development and good governance. We continue supporting sustainable development, human welfare, peace and stability in our regions and across the world. We stand against all forms of intolerance, xenophobia and exclusive policies, emphasizing the importance of transparency, inclusiveness, cooperation and a rules-based international system.

4. Present challenges to international peace and security are often characterized by asymmetrical threats and unpredictable complex crises, which also undermine sustainable development in many parts of the world. An effectively functioning United Nations system is key to address these challenges collectively. MIKTA remains committed to supporting all efforts to make the UN fit for purpose and welcomes the ongoing discussions for a more effective, efficient, accountable and transparent United Nations. All of us being strong supporters of multilateralism, we highly value our cooperation and collaboration in the United Nations, which extends to a wide spectrum of areas. These include humanitarian affairs, development and peace, counter-terrorism, candidatures, advocating for human rights and fundamental freedoms in particular of people with disabilities and advancing gender equality. We are glad that this year MIKTA expanded its joint work in the United Nations to new areas and platforms, including the Security Council and the Alliance of Civilizations.

5. We welcome the UN Secretary General's comprehensive reform agenda, which aims to make the three pillars of the UN - peace and security, human rights and sustainable development - more coherent through improved coordination and cooperation between UN agencies. We consider the Secretary General's efforts timely and vital to transform the Organization and make it fitter to deliver the mandates enshrined in its Charter. We are looking forward to continuing MIKTA's dialogue with the Secretary-General of the United Nations on a regular basis.

6. As a group of like-minded countries seeking to contribute to global governance and the shared interests of the international community, we will continue to work together to achieve the ambitions set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this respect, we recognise the importance of eradicating poverty and inequality, and support inclusive and sustainable growth, as well as conserve and sustainably manage our environment, aimed at building resilient societies "leaving no one behind". We are also committed to promote gender equality and women and girls' empowerment. We support as well an effective development cooperation that is focused on results and is transparent, accountable, and inclusive and responds to the priorities of the recipients.

7. We reaffirm the UN General Assembly resolution 69/313 of 27 July 2015 on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, which is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It supports and complements the Agenda, helps to contextualize its means of implementation targets with concrete policies and actions, and reaffirms the strong political commitment to address the challenge of financing and creating an enabling environment at all levels for sustainable development in the spirit of global partnership and solidarity.

8. Our development experts together with academics, civil society and UNDP officials met in Istanbul on 1 December 2017 during the joint meeting of the MIKTA Development Seminar and Academic Network. They exchanged views on good practices in SDG implementation in MIKTA countries; the role of the private sector in sustainable development; technology, innovation and science for development; and the New Way of Working: Humanitarian-Development Nexus.

9. We recognize that the advancement of Sustainable Development Goals through International Development Cooperation, in its different modalities, including Official Development Assistance (ODA), and complementarily, South-South and triangular cooperation will contribute to the eradication of poverty, promote a peaceful and fair world, and improve the lives of people in an equitable manner. In this respect, we recognize the multidimensionality of development that allows for the building of an international development architecture, in which all developing countries receive support in accordance with their challenges, vulnerabilities, structural and particular gaps, including capacity building and technology transfer. In this regard, we note that the Ninth Global South-South Development Expo hosted by Turkey in Antalya on 27-30 November 2017, provided a valuable platform to share evidence-based Southern-grown development solutions, best practices and lessons learned. We also welcome the operationalization of the United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Turkey, by which SDG target 17.8 has been achieved. The Technology Bank in Gebze will serve as an important United Nations hub to enable technology transfers for LDCs. We look forward to the Second High-Level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, to be held in Buenos Aires 20-22 March 2019.

10. We note that our countries are leading various initiatives within regional and international organizations to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes and conflict prevention and resolution. These include the "Mediation for Peace Initiative" promoted by Turkey and Mexico among many other countries that was crystalized in the creation of the Group of Friends of Mediation at the United Nations. We support each other's efforts and recognize the need for a comprehensive and integrated approach towards the "peace continuum". We welcome UN Secretary General Guterres's call for a "Surge in Diplomacy for Peace" and underline the importance of capacity building in regional and international organizations, keeping in mind the peace and development nexus, with a view to sustaining peace".

11. As supporters of the concept of "sustaining peace", we reiterate our commitment to continue promoting this approach, as a paradigm shift within the United Nations system. In this regard, we welcome the "Asian Conference on Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention" co-hosted by the Republic of Korea, the UN Peacebuilding Office and the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation in November, 2017, enhancing the understanding of the UN's role and efforts in peacebuilding and sustaining peace among an Asian audience as well as bring Asian perspectives on what is needed to apply the sustaining peace framework in the region into ongoing discussions at the UN.

12. At the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS), MIKTA countries made two joint commitments (a) to build a program of action and advocacy to support accelerated implementation of the Sendai Framework within their regions and (b) to work closely with local and national women's groups to provide them with practical support to increase their capacity to deliver in humanitarian settings. In this respect, sharing experiences and progress on these joint and related national commitments made at the WHS is important. It is therefore imperative to push for the effective fulfilment of these joint commitments and discuss future steps that can be taken as MIKTA countries. To this end, we welcome the successful side event on private-public sector cooperation for disaster risk reduction (DRR) at the Global Platform on DRR in Cancun, Mexico in May as a means to advance our respective commitments under the Sendai Framework. Looking ahead, a special emphasis should be placed on The New Way of Working, an outcome of the WHS which aims to coordinate humanitarian and development aid in a more coherent and systematic manner.

13. As MIKTA countries, we believe in democracy, good governance and transparency which are best reflected in the fundamental work of our national parliaments. The Third MIKTA Parliaments Speakers Consultation was held in Istanbul on 29 September 2017 with great success. MIKTA parliamentarians who attended the Consultations were engaged in a rich and constructive exchange of ideas based on their respective experiences and best practices in law making and political representation as well as on the role of national parliaments in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

14. The first ever MIKTA Policy Planning Consultations were held in Istanbul, on 10 July 2017, during the Turkish Chairmanship. The Consultations enabled Policy Planners of MIKTA Ministries of Foreign Affairs to exchange views on a broad range of issues. We deem it useful to continue Policy Planning Consultations.

15. One of the priorities of the 2017 MIKTA Agenda was combatting terrorism. MIKTA countries reiterate their strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and emphasize the importance of effective international cooperation to counter terrorism. Cognizant that there is a need to take a more comprehensive approach which encompasses not only ongoing, essential security-based counter-terrorism measures, but also systematic preventive measures, and the respect of human rights, MIKTA countries also stress that violent extremists come from all strata in society, including many different ethnic, religious, ideological and non-religious groups. MIKTA countries' experts on terrorism met in Ankara on 6 December 2017 and had comprehensive deliberations regarding national, regional and global counter terrorism related developments.

16. The current scale of human mobility is profound and unprecedented. MIKTA members, be they receiving, sending or transit countries, have various significant similarities regarding their efforts to manage migration and refugee movements. We welcome that the meeting on migration and refugees was held on 17 May 2017 in Istanbul with the participation of representatives from MIKTA countries, as well as the UNHCR and IOM, within the framework of Turkey's MIKTA Chairmanship. MIKTA countries agreed on the continuation of close cooperation in these fields.

17. We also welcome the Stocktaking Meeting of the UN Global Compact on Migration held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. At this meeting, participants agreed that the Global Compact should be based on the respect for human rights and the recognition of the economic and social benefits of migration. MIKTA Members look forward to the adoption of the Global Compact in 2018 at the UN, to achieve a safe, orderly and regular international migration.

18. Referring to the recent statement by the US Administration on the status of Jerusalem, we would like to emphasize that we support a two-state solution where both peoples live within secure and internationally-recognised borders and that all matters relating to the Final Status of Jerusalem are subject to negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority as stated by all relevant UN Resolutions.

19. We strongly condemn the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) nuclear tests and ballistic missiles launch including the recent launch of a long-range ballistic missile on November 29 and the 6th nuclear test conducted on 3 September 2017. The DPRK's repeated acts of provocation are a grave threat to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond. We strongly urge the DPRK to refrain from further provocative actions and abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. We also emphasized that the DPRK should immediately and fully comply with all its international obligations, including all relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.

20. We reaffirm our determination to resolve the problem through peaceful and diplomatic means and express support for the efforts of the Republic of Korea to improve inter-Korean relations toward establishing permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. We also share the view that the upcoming Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games could serve as a useful occasion to promote peace and stability in on the Korean Peninsula.

21. We express our deep concern regarding the ongoing situation in Rakhine State of Myanmar which has serious negative implications for the region and beyond. We welcome the signing of the "Arrangement on return of displaced persons from Rakhine State" between the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh on 23 November 2017 to create the necessary conditions for the voluntary, safe and dignified return of displaced persons to their places of origin. As MIKTA members, we will follow the implementation of this arrangement in the period to come and we stand ready to support Myanmar and Bangladesh in this endeavor. We also welcome with appreciation the 4+1 formula initiated by Indonesia, which contributes to the efforts to find a lasting solution to the problems in the Rakhine state.

22. MIKTA underlines the importance of stability in Venezuela and expressed its support for the negotiation process taking place in Santo Domingo with a view to finding a peaceful solution to the existing problems MIKTA encourages all parties to engage genuinely in this process.

23. International trade and investment are important drivers of economic growth, job creation and development. We underline MIKTA's support for the rules-based, free, open, transparent and inclusive multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization playing the central role. We reiterate our opposition to all forms of protectionism and are committed to better communicating the benefits of free and open markets to all members of society. In this spirit, we welcome the first meeting of MIKTA Trade Ministers at the WTO's 11th Ministerial Conference, and commit to continue implementing the Bali, Nairobi and Buenos Aires outcomes and advance negotiations on the remaining Doha Development Agenda issues as well as exploring new topics such as e-commerce, SMEs and investment facilitation as a matter of priority. We highlight MIKTA's innovative approach to strengthening and improving the functioning of the WTO. Events such as the MIKTA Workshop on Trade and Investment held on 20 March 2017 are bringing countries with different views together, facilitating open discussion and creating opportunities to better understand our common interests.

24. We reaffirm MIKTA's focus on innovation as a driver of economic growth, and as a way to improve public-policy impact and results. As agreed by Foreign Ministers in 2016, we note that the MIKTA Innovation Group met for the first time in Australia in August this year, where participants gained an insight into Australia's innovation ecosystem and, strengthened networks between innovators. We commend the innovation group and encourage further collaboration under Indonesia's year as Chairmanship in 2018.

25. We welcome the MIKTA Education in Emergencies (EiE) challenge run by Australia, which called for new ideas to improve access to education for children in emergency situations, particularly girls. Conflict, disasters and other crises are currently disrupting the education of more than 75 million children across 35 countries. In these environments, girls are 2.5 times more likely to be out of school than boys. Seven winners have been selected by Australia and these winning innovations will test new methods to support the learning needs of displaced Rohingya and Syrian children; provide innovative learning kits for children with disabilities in the Pacific, and help aid workers to track and plan for education in emergency situations in Africa and the Pacific.

26. We are committed to adopt climate resilient development pathways in line with the Sustainable Development Agenda and consider the outcome of the twenty-third session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) a significant step forward to enhance collective action to combat climate change. In this context, we welcome the constructive, facilitative and solutions oriented Talanoa Dialogue. By focusing on the benefits of collective action, this process will move the global climate agenda forward.

27. MIKTA is committed to the goals of improving the living standards and the rights of women, ensuring their full and equal participation in all spheres of life and strengthening their status in society. MIKTA also maintains a close cooperation with the international organizations such as UN Women with the aim of ensuring equality between men and women and it is always determined to achieve the goal of gender equality.

28. Strengthening friendship between MIKTA's young generation is also a way to realize the spirit of a 'New and Innovative Partnership'. In this regard, we agreed to promote exchanges between young people through various means including the MIKTA Young Leaders' Camp annually organized by the ROK.

29. We thank Turkey for its leadership as MIKTA Chair in 2017 and note that there has been a significant progress in advancing the MIKTA Agenda during its term. We look forward to further our cooperation in 2018 when Indonesia assumes the role of MIKTA Chair with an ambitious agenda.