VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) have agreed to the drafting of a roadmap for development cooperation for the next five years.

"Indonesia will soon also start renovating Port Moresby Hospital, developing fire stations and conducting waste management in Vanimo, developing schools in Wutung, and providing scholarships for PNG students," he stated on Wednesday (July 5), as broadcast by the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel.

The president's remarks were made during the joint press conference after meeting Prime Minister James Marape at APEC Haus, Port Moresby, PNG.

During the meeting, Jokowi echoed Indonesia's commitment to advancing cooperation with Pacific countries, including PNG.

The two leaders also discussed efforts to enhance economic cooperation between Indonesia and PNG. The president noted that the bilateral trade value in 2022 had surged to US$307 million.

"We need to increase this by pushing for the continuation of the PTA (preferential trade agreement) deliberation, the establishment of a business council, visits of trade and investment missions, and participation of Indonesian state-owned companies in road construction in PNG," he expounded.

Meanwhile, the president said he welcomed new connectivity initiatives and the resumption of activities in the Indonesia-PNG border.

The head of state commended the new initiatives of the opening of the PNG Express sea route; direct flights from Denpasar, Bali, to Port Moresby; ratification of the Basic Agreement on Border Arrangement; and the reopening of the Skouw-Wutung land border post.

Jokowi said he discussed Indo-Pacific cooperation with Marape. He also conveyed the commitment to increasing engagement between Indonesia and ASEAN and the Pacific region.

"Including by inviting Pacific representatives to the East Asia Summit and organizing the ASEAN-Indo-Pacific Forum," he remarked. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Netherlands will be returning 472 objects of cultural significance to Indonesia and 6 to Sri Lanka, at the request of Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

The decision to return them was made by Secretary of State for Culture and Media Gunay Uslu, following the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on the Return of Cultural Objects from Colonial Context, chaired by Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You. The works are currently in the collections of the National Museum of World Cultures and the Rijksmuseum.

"The objects were wrongfully brought to the Netherlands during the colonial period, acquired under duress or by looting," the Embassy of Netherlands stated in a release received by VOI News on Thursday.

The objects that belong to Indonesia include the ‘Lombok treasure’ consisting of 335 objects from Lombok, four statues from Singasari, a keris from Klungkung, and 132 objects of modern art from Bali, known as the Pita Maha collection.

The transfer of ownership to Indonesia will take place at the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden on 10 July. 

The Advisory Committee on the Return of Cultural Objects from Colonial Context is now considering further requests from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Nigeria and will issue its recommendations on these requests later.

“This is a historic moment. It’s the first time we’re following the recommendations of the Committee to give back objects that should never have been brought to the Netherlands. But more than anything, it’s a moment to look to the future. We’re not only returning objects; we’re also embarking on a period of closer cooperation with Indonesia and Sri Lanka in areas like collection research, presentation, and exchanges between museums," Gunay Uslu said.

Previously, Indonesia requested the return of several objects that are of great importance to the country. The history of the objects was studied in detail by the National Museum of World Cultures, in consultation with Indonesian experts.

The Dutch Committee discussed their findings with the Indonesian repatriation committee, which is chaired by the former ambassador of Indonesia to the Netherlands I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja.

Based on the research, the Committee recommended that the objects be returned. (VOI)

VOINews, Jakarta - Delegates of the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) and the ASEAN High-Level Dialogue Conference, Wednesday, visited Sinduharjo Village, Sleman to learn about the village that was named as the peace village.

They tried gejog lesung, a traditional musical instrument, in Sinduharjo Village, Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta. Guided by the founder of the Wahid Foundation, Zanuba Arrifah Chafsoh or Yenny Wahid, the ASEAN delegates seemed happy to try the traditional Javanese musical instrument.

Not only learning about local culture, the delegates also learned about women's economic empowerment in Sinduharjo village, which was declared the Village of Peace. Yenny Wahid told the media that the concept of a peaceful village studied by the ASEAN member delegates originated from an idea conceptualized by the Wahid Foundation to empower women without abandoning existing cultural values.

"This is also of course we have to transmit ideas using the language they understand, it can be local language of course, but also use religious jargon, use customary jargon, so use the language they understand too," Yenny Wahid said.

"We don't bump into them. But we communicate by using the values that they already believe in, but we try to change slowly or perfect it by showing that when facilitating women it is not against religion, not against custom, not against family needs, that the mother is still there for her children," she said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Regent of Sleman, Danang Maharsa, on the same occasion mentioned that Sleman's women and children empowerment continues to receive national recognition. This proves that many women's empowerment and child protection programs are running well.

Representatives of delegations from ASEAN member countries discussing women's empowerment issues were gathered by the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection to attend the ASEAN Women, Peace and Security Summit Forum which took place in Yogyakarta from July 3-7, 2023. This activity was held in the framework of Indonesia's role in the Chairmanship of ASEAN 2023. (RRI Yogyakarta/Rosi/AHM)

VOINews, Jakarta - The number of terror attacks carried out in Indonesia is showing a declining trend, according to Head of the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT), Rycko Amelza Dahniel.

"Violence-based terrorism prevention and countermeasures have shown a positive trend (as seen) by the decline in terror attacks in Indonesia from year to year," Dahniel said here on Wednesday.

According to the I-KHub BNPT Counter Terrorism and Violent Extremism Outlook platform, Indonesia recorded 49 terror attacks in the period from 2018 to 2022.

Nineteen terror attacks were recorded in 2018. Their number declined to eleven for two consecutive years 2019 and 2020, and then fell further to six in 2021 and two in 2022.

However, the BNPT head said that the declining trend is merely the tip of the iceberg.

He asked all parties not to be complacent and remain vigilant, particularly against terrorist movements that have begun to infiltrate people's lives.

"(Terrorist) groups have begun to shift their approach from hard to soft approach, and from bullet strategy to ballot strategy," Dahniel said.

Public awareness and synergy among parties would be essential in efforts against violence-based extremism and terrorism as BNPT cannot manage the threats alone, he added.

The agency, earlier on Wednesday, launched four knowledge products in the form of results of analyses and studies related to countering violent extremism that leads to terrorism in Indonesia.

The knowledge products were I-KHubBNPT Counter Terrorism and Violent Extremism Outlook, K-Hub PCVE Outlook, Mid-Term Evaluation of the National Action Plan on Prevention of Extremism (RAN PE), and Analysis of Local Government Readiness to Implement RAN PE.

Dahniel expressed the hope that the knowledge products would become the basis for follow-up discussions on the prevention of violent extremism in Indonesia.

"We surely expect those analyses and studies to be discussed and given feedback from various parties," he said. (Antaranews)