VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has expressed firm belief that Indonesia will make the most of its role as the host of the G20 Presidency to contribute to efforts focused on achieving equitable global prosperity.

"We will optimize the trust to hold this G20 Presidency. We will use it to contribute to the world's prosperity that is evenly distributed and more equitable, just, and inclusive," Jokowi stated on the occasion of the 109th anniversary of Muhammadiyah at the State Palace here on Thursday.

The G20 Presidency is a forum comprising 19 countries and one European Union country, which are the largest contributors to the world economy. Some 80 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) and 75 percent of the world's exports come from G20 countries.

Indonesia will be hosting the G20 Presidency from December 2021 to November 2022 and will later hold a summit of G20 leaders in October 2022 at Bali.

"We should be grateful that Indonesia is trusted as the G20 Presidency host. We are the first developing country to have received this great honor," Jokowi stated.

According to the president, the trust placed also reflects the increasing global recognition that Indonesia is capable of holding the G20 Presidency 2022.

The president also emphasized that world prosperity should be more just and inclusive. The G20 must play a role in shaping a world that is resilient to crises and strong in facing the impacts of climate change.

"We must continue to create a more peaceful and tolerant world," he remarked.

Moreover, he expounded that as the largest Muslim nation in the world that upholds the values of Pancasila and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, Indonesia can be a global reference regarding Islam in terms of the way forward, and Islam that is just and balanced (wasathiyah), which is supported by the Muhammadiyah unions.

"Not only is it important for Indonesia but also relevant to the world," Jokowi remarked. (Antaranews)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has ordered the expedited realization of the state (APBN) and regional budgets (APBD) in order to provide economic stimulus to the public.

“This month is November 2021 and we will soon enter December 2021. Expedite the realization of APBN and APBD. When it comes to APBN, ministries/non-ministerial government institutions must stay focused on expediting its realization,” Widodo said at a cabinet plenary at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He further asked Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian to monitor the realization of APBD. The home affairs minister must convince regional heads that the realization of APBD is crucial to boost economic activities, particularly in the regions concerned, Widodo said.

“I ask the home affairs minister to look at APBD, whose budget absorption is relatively low, and to pay attention to it. Assure them (regional heads) that APBD (realization) is important for our economic growth,” the President said.

Citing an example, he said the realization of social protection funds has only reached 77 percent of the budget execution list (DIPA), the budget realization under the labor-intensive program has only reached 77 percent, while the realization of assistance to support MSMEs and corporations has only touched 60 percent.

The government has set the economic growth target for 2021 at 3.7–4.5 percent year on year (yoy) despite the COVID-19 pandemic. It has set state spending under APBN 2021 at Rp2,750 trillion and state revenues at Rp1,743,6 trillion.

Economic growth slowed to 3.51 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2021 compared to 7.07 percent yoy in the previous quarter due to the enforcement of public activity restrictions (PPKM), officials said. (Antaranews)

The Indonesian government has projected that the state budget (APBN) deficit will reduce to 5.2–5.4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), or equal to Rp873.6 trillion, by the end of 2021.

The number is smaller than the initial projection in the 2021 APBN Law of 5.7 percent of the GDP or Rp1,006.4 trillion, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati noted after a plenary cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The estimated reduction is due to increasing state revenues, as Indonesia’s overall revenue has grown by 18.2 percent as of the end of October 2021, she explained.

By the end of October, tax revenue had increased 15.3 percent, while during the same period in 2020, it had contracted by 18.8 percent, the minister said.

In addition, customs revenue and non-tax state revenues (PNBP) grew by 25.5 percent and 25.2 percent, respectively, until the end of October 2021, she added.

Last year, customs revenue increased by just 5.5 percent, whilst PNBP contracted by 16.3 percent, Indrawati said.

"Thus, at the same period in 2020, the state revenue contracted 15.3 percent," the minister noted.

Furthermore, she informed that until the end of October 2021, central government spending grew 5.4 percent compared to the same period the previous year.

In fact, it is estimated to grow higher to reach 10.4 percent by the end of 2021 as the ministries and institutions’ spending has also increased significantly by 14.8 percent, she said.

"The spending is mostly used for the handling of COVID-19 and providing social assistance," Indrawati remarked.

Meanwhile, there are still obstacles to spending on financial transfers to the region and village funds (TKDD), which contracted by 7.9 percent, she informed.

"If it can be completed in one and a half months, it is likely that the TKDD growth will be flat compared to last year," the minister remarked.

However, since the overall achievements of state revenues have shown positive improvement in the APBN, the 2021 APBN deficit is expected to be less than the prior assumption, she said.  (Antaranews)

The development of wellness tourism could help expand the market for traditional medicines and cosmetics, the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) has said.

"Indonesia has biodiversity. Its natural ingredients can be processed into herbal products, herbal medicines, and cosmetics. This is what we call wellness tourism," BPOM head Penny K Lukito said at the 'Assistance Seminar for Herbal and Cosmetic MSMEs', accessed from here on Wednesday.

Wellness tourism is also an alternative to explore the economic potential of tourism, which combines tourism and health aspects, she added.

According to Lukito, Indonesia possesses great potential to develop wellness tourism that is based on local wisdom.

"It cannot be separated from the utilization of natural ingredients in the form of various herbal and cosmetic products that have been passed down from generation to generation," she said.

However, there are still challenges to utilizing the opportunity, especially those faced by MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) in terms of permission, obtaining raw materials, capital, accessing information technology, and the capacity of human resources, she added.

"Therefore, the BPOM should continuously assist in a bid to improve the quality of herbal and cosmetic products from upstream to downstream," Lukito said.

The BPOM head emphasized that her agency will continue to strive to assist traditional medicines and cosmetics MSMEs in maintaining and improving their product quality so that they remain competitive, both domestically and internationally.

She affirmed that the agency has developed several programs to support the development of MSMEs, such as training, technical guidance, and assistance, which are aimed at assisting business players, both in preparing production facilities and obtaining product distribution permits.

"We always provide assistance from training, technical guidance, to facilitating registration. We have provided that," she remarked. (Antaranews)