VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo visited the 2018 Asian Agriculture and Food Forum (ASAFF) exhibition held at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC). This exhibition is part of a series of ASAFF held by the Association of Indonesian Farmers (HKTI) on June 28-July 1, 2018.

Arriving at JCC at around 14.11 WIB, the President, wearing a white shirt and black pants, was greeted by Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman and Chief of Staff of the Moeldoko Presidency. The three then immediately went in to take a look at the exhibition, Sunday (1/7/2018).

Not only agricultural commodities, in ASAFF exhibition themed "Transforming Challenges into Opportunities: Agricultural Innovation and Food Security" is also exhibited various innovations in agriculture.

The President also vsited the stands of modern agricultural tools ranging from drones to Controlled Atmosphere Storage (CAS) or storage machines that could store fresh food for up to six months.

Related to this innovation, the Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman mentioned that innovation could be the key to success in agriculture, such as the achievement of food self-sufficiency.

"Food self-sufficiency can happen, even food sovereignty will occur when we encourage and develop our innovations. The key to success in agriculture should encourage innovation from seeds to post-harvest processing," the Agriculture Minister told the media.

In line with the Minister of Agriculture, Chief of Staff of the President who is also Chairman of HKTI Moeldoko said that countries that have a level of progress in agriculture must have a very high innovation.

According to him, Indonesia's agriculture can be more developed with a technology approach that is cultivated.

"Our society is almost partially still using the traditional approach. The innovations here we take, we communicate with the entrepreneurs so that later all the development of products that can be developed and used by farmers, "said Moeldoko. (KBRN/Rsp/HF/AHM)

Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee (INASGOC) has estimated the peak of the Asian Games competition at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) stadium in Senayan, Jakarta, to be on Aug 28, following the final-semifinal matches of 15 sports.

"We estimate around 110 thousand people to come to GBK stadium on Aug 28 if all tickets have been sold out completely," INASGOC`s Chairman, Erick Thohir, told the press in Jakarta on Saturday night.

Thohir stated that the GBK Senayan complex in Jakarta will hold the matches of 15 sports, such as badminton, basketball, volleyball, squash, and rugby.

"If all the audiences come together in the final and semi-final matches, there will certainly be tremendous congestion. We expect a breakthrough to reduce congestion," he remarked.

In addition, INASGOC also expects that the Asian Games, especially in Jakarta, would be attended by 300 thousand people.

INASGOC also expects the government of Jakarta to continue to monitor the travel of Asian Games athletes and officials from the "Wisma Atlet" in Kemayoran to the match locations, including in Pondok Indah, Cibubur, and the Indonesia in Miniature Park (TMII)

The Asian Games 2018 is scheduled to be held from Aug 18 to Sept 2, in Jakarta and Palembang (South Sumatra).

About 19 thousand athletes and officials have been registered until Tuesday. INASGOC opens registration until June 30, Secretary of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, Gatot S Dewa Broto, said in a written statement to the media, received by Antara in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Indonesia will strive to make the total number of athletes and officials taking part in the Asian Games to reach 15 thousand.

"There are 32 countries that will take part in the football event of the Asian Games. The All-Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) has been ordered to arrange the toss for the matches early in July and use it as a means of promoting the Asian Games," he remarked. (ANTARA)

People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Chairman Zulkifli Hasan has lauded Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed’s commitment to supporting the sovereignty of the nation by seeking national economic growth.

"During the meeting between Mahathir and Indonesian officials and businessmen at the Grand Hyatt Hotel here, I admire Mahathir`s statement about how to make the national economy grow while maintaining national sovereignty," Zulkifli remarked on Friday.

Present at the meeting, organized by the Indonesia-Malaysia Business Council, were Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil, Manpower Minister Hanif Dakhiri, Zulkifli Hasan, and former Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia Dai Bachtiar, among others.

At the meeting, Mohammed emphasized that the nation`s economic growth should prioritize national sovereignty.

Quoting Mohammed’‘s statement, the MPR chairman said that in this era of globalization, it is inevitable for every country to cooperate with other nations, especially in the fields of trade and investment.

However, Zulkifli noted that investment from other countries should not all be accepted, let alone look for potential investors.

"The foreign investment plan must be analyzed for its pros and con. If it is good, accept it, but if not, do not accept it," he remarked.

"If everything is accepted, our nation will become a coolie," he said.

According to Zulkifli, Mohammed also noted that a good policy is one that prioritizes the sovereignty of the nation. (ANTARA)

Indonesia’s Tourism Minister has expressed hope that the reopening of Bali`s Ngurah Rai International Airport would encourage six countries to revoke the travel advisories they issued against Indonesia.

"We wish to announce that the I Gusti Ngurah Rai airport has been officially reopened as of June 29, 2018 at 2:30 p.m., Central Indonesia Standard Time (WITA)," Arief Yahya, the Minister of Tourism, said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday. "So, to the countries that have issued travel advisories, please revise them immediately."

Earlier, six countries -- the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and France --published travel advisories following the eruption of Gunung Agung.

As of 2.35 p.m. local time on Friday, the six countries` travel advisories were still in place.

"The reopening of the Ngurah Rai Airport will normalize flight schedules to help travelers recover from flight delays," Arief explained.

The airport, which serves as the biggest gateway for foreign tourists entering the country, will operate for 24 hours until conditions return to normal.

"Thanks to Angkasa Pura I (port operator) and to the transportation ministry (Kemenhub) for being proactive in thinking about our customers, the tourists who go to Bali," the minister said.

Arief lamented the extended effect of a travel advisory, saying it applies to an entire country even if the danger is confined to only one or two provinces.

"Therefore, the impact can be nationwide if the advisory is not immediately revised," he added. (ANTARA)