VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

KBRN, Tokyo: The Indonesian Ministry of Manpower has accepted a proposal to extend the validity period of the Memorandum of Cooperation Specified Skilled Worker (MoC SSW) which will expire in June 2024 in a meeting with Japanese representatives in Tokyo.

In a statement in Jakarta on Wednesday (24/4/2024), Secretary General of the Ministry of Manpower Anwar Sanusi said Indonesia accepted the proposal in a meeting with Director General of the Residency Management and Support Department, Immigration Services Agency of the Ministry of Justice of Japan, Fukuhara Nobuko in Tokyo, Japan. Secretary General of the Ministry of Manpower Anwar explained that previously the proposal to extend the SSW MoC had been received by the Ministry of Manpower on 31 October 2023 and 3 April 2024.

"In principle, we can accept the proposal to extend the validity period of the MoC SSW Indonesia - Japan without any amendments until the issuance of new Japanese Government policies related to the acceptance of foreign workers in Japan. Especially in the Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP) system and the SSW system," Anwar said.

The Ministry of Manpower is also enthusiastic and welcomes the latest information from the Japanese Ministry of Justice regarding the new policy of accepting foreign workers in Japan in the TITP and SSW systems. "I strongly support the implementation of this MoC and welcome the extension or renewal of this MoC," said Anwar Sanusi.

He said during the five years of implementation of the SSW programme, the number of participants was still far from the target. For this reason, the Ministry of Manpower hopes that both parties, namely the Governments of Indonesia and Japan, will conduct a joint evaluation of the MoC so that implementation can be easier, smoother, and more optimal in the future. Anwar Sanusi also hopes that a large number of Indonesian workers can work in Japan both through the SSW programme and new programmes that will be issued by the Japanese Government. "Including other programmes issued by the Japanese Government in order to open up employment opportunities for foreign workers in Japan," he said.

Previously, Secretary General of the Ministry of Manpower Anwar Sanusi also met with Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Kikuchi Hiroshi. Anwar proposed the opening of four new SSW fields, from 14 sectors to 18 sectors. Another proposal is the establishment of a category (1) SSW quota of 820,000 workers for the period 2024-2029. (Daniel).

The governments of Bandung City and Melbourne City, represented by officials from each city signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MSP) at Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne City, last Monday (22/4). The MSP was signed by the Mayor of Melbourne, Sally Capp AO. The person in charge (PJ) of the Mayor of Bandung, Bambang Tirtoyuliono has signed the document separately in Bandung. The signing activity was also witnessed by the Indonesian Consul General for Victoria and Tasmania, Kuncoro Giri Waseso, Assistant for Economic and Development of Bandung City, Eric Mohamad Atthauriq, and a group of Bandung City Government delegates.

In a statement from the Indonesian Consulate General in Melbourne received on Wednesday (24/4/2024), it was stated that the MSP was intended to form cooperation and develop effective and mutually beneficial friendly relations. "There are five areas of cooperation agreed upon, namely Smart Cities; Economy and Trade; Higher Education, Training and Capacity Building; Livable Cities and City Resilience," the Consulate wrote.

After the signing of the MSP, the Bandung and Melbourne governments held a meeting to discuss education cooperation, the development of innovation and pioneering companies, the existence of multicultural communities, and the use of technology in city management. "Both parties also agreed that the newly signed MSP should be able to strengthen the cooperation that has existed so far," wrote the Indonesian Consulate General in Melbourne.

Before the MSP was signed, the two cities already implement active cooperation, including through the Bandung-Melbourne Innovation Event Social Impact in 2022; Participation of the Bandung City Government in the Victoria Cleantech Expo 2021; Collaboration of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the State Government of Victoria, and the City Government of Melbourne in organizing E-Commerce and Cybersecurity Training for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) which was attended by 25 SMEs and MSMEs in Bandung in 2020; Webinar on Respective Responses to the COVID-19 Situation in West Java and Melbourne in 2020; Signing of the 2019 City to City Cooperation Letter of Intent (LoI); and, Sending the winner of the 2019 Bandung-Melbourne Datathon to Melbourne for incubation in 2019. As an implementation of the MSP, both Bandung and Melbourne will share experiences related to the organization of city day operations, pitch competitions, knowledge exchange, cultural arts cooperation, student exchange, and two-way trade and investment promotion.

Prior to the signing, the Indonesian Consulate General in Melbourne also facilitated a meeting between the Bandung City Government Delegation and the Indonesian Culinary Association of Victoria (ICAV), an association of Indonesian business people and gastronomists in Victoria. During the meeting, both parties discussed future collaborations, including the Bandung City Government's participation in gastronomy promotion activities in Victoria, exploring business opportunities such as the export of spices and handicrafts from Bandung, and the expansion of restaurants from Bandung. (Daniel).

FILE PHOTO: A man walks under an electronic screen showing Japan's Nikkei share price index inside a conference hall 2022. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo - 

VOInews, TOKYO/LONDON : World stocks recovered some losses on Monday and bonds, oil and gold dipped as investors reversed some of their more defensive positions taken going into the weekend on fears of a wider Middle East conflict.

The week ahead is packed with corporate earnings, with 158 companies in the S&P 500 and 173 companies in the STOXX 600 reporting first quarter results this week according to data from LSEG workspace.

These include several big European banks, as well as U.S. tech giants Microsoft and Alphabet, with the latter in particular focus after chip maker Nvidia's 10 per cent drop on Friday, its biggest percentage fall in four years.

Crucial U.S. PCE inflation data, the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge, due Friday, finishes off the week. After CPI data earlier this month, markets currently see the first Fed rate cut coming in September.

Ahead of all that, shares rose on Monday, with the STOXX 600 up 0.25 per cent and S&P 500 futures 0.36 per cent higher after MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.8 per cent. All fell on Friday.

London's commodities-heavy FTSE100 rose around 1 per cent the biggest gainer among large Europpean benchmarks, as tin and nickel rose to new muulti-month highs. [.L][MET/L]

It was outpaced by a 2.3 per cent gain for the Portugese index as oil company Galp Energia had a STOXX 600 topping 17 per cent jump after saying a field off Namibia could contain 10 bln barrels of oil. [.EU]

In a further reversal of Friday's "rise off" mood, gold eased back from near its peaks, U.S. Treasury yields ticked higher and crude oil prices declined as the potential for a major supply disruption waned.

In recent weeks, investors have taken cautious positions on Fridays fearing an escalation in the conflict in the Middle East over the weekend when markets are closed and they are unable to trade.

"It seems neither Israel nor Iran want an escalation in the crisis in the Middle East ... and with a subsequent strike from either side not looking like it's coming, investor concerns have eased somewhat," said Kazuo Kamitani, a strategist at Nomura Securities.

However, Kamitani said expectations of later Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and concerns about chip sector earnings will continue to keep investors on their toes.

Iran said on Friday that it had no plan to retaliate following an apparent Israeli drone attack within its borders, which in turn followed an Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel days before.

HAVEN OUTFLOWS

Bond yields - which climb when prices fall - rose back toward multi-month highs.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was last up 3 basis points to 4.64 per cent, heading back toward the five-month peak of 4.696 per cent reached last week on the view that the Fed would be in no hurry to ease policy amid robust economic data and sticky inflation. [US/]

European yields also edged higher. [GVD/EUR]

The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major peers, eased 0.05 per cent to 106.05. It was also at a five-month top last week, at 106.51.

"As long as there is this uncertainty about the cutting cylce particularly in the U.S, its interesting for investors to be in dollar longs because of its dual status as a high yielding currency and also a defensive currency," said Yvan Berthoux FX strategist at UBS.

Gold slid 1.3 per cent to $2,358.75, retreating from near the all-time peak of $2,431.29 earlier in the month. [GOL/]

Crude oil fell as traders put the focus back on fundamentals with a rise in U.S. stockpiles as the backdrop

Brent futures fell 137 cents, or 1.56 per cent to $85.92 a barrel. [O/R]//Reuters, CNA-VOI

FILE PHOTO: Members of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) Joint Task Force assist in delivering ballot boxes by NH90 helicopter to remote areas of the Solomon Islands ahead of the upcoming election, Solomon Islands, in this handout image released on April 17, 2024. New Zealand Defence Force/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo - 

VOInews, Solomon Island : The Solomon Islands election, watched by China and the US for its impact on regional security, is shaping up as a tight race with opposition parties gaining seats and independents holding the key to forming the next government.

Last week's national election was the first since Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare struck a security pact with China in 2022, drawing the Pacific Islands nation closer to Beijing. The move concerned the US and neighbouring Australia because of the potential impact on regional security.

Counting for several seats continued on Monday (Apr 22), as results showed the opposition CARE coalition drawing level with Sogavare's OUR party on 12 seats in a 50-seat parliament.

Independents and micro parties took 16 seats, and the major parties will seek to win independent support in negotiations this week in the race to form a government.

CARE includes Matthew Wale's Solomon Islands Democratic Party, U4C and the Democratic Alliance Party. Another prominent opposition party, Peter Kenilorea Jr's United, which said it would scrap the China security pact, won seven seats.

One source with direct knowledge told Reuters two independent candidates had joined CARE on Monday, and unofficial results showed it had won two more seats, which would take its numbers to 16.

High-profile former prime minister Gordon Darcy Lilo returns to parliament after a decade, as the only winning candidate for the Party for Rural Advancement.

Daniel Suidani, the former premier of Malaita province and a prominent critic of China, regained his seat in the provincial assembly in Malaita, and said on Monday his party, U4C, hoped to regain the premiership.

Provincial and national elections were held on the same day.

"It looks as though the CARE coalition - U4C, DAP and SIDP - are very shortly joining with some other independent candidates, so it is looking good," Suidani told Reuters in a telephone interview on Monday, adding the process could take a number of days.

Sogavare's office did not respond to a request for comment.

In excerpts of an interview with Solomon Islands' Tavuli News on Monday, Sogavare pledged there would be "a lot of reforms" if his government is returned.

Two women enter parliament for the first time as independents.

Police and defence forces from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji are assisting with election security.

The election process had been peaceful, although there were a few disturbances in Malaita by supporters of losing candidates, two officials in Malaita said//Reuters, CNA - VOI