Bali will become an annual host of the 2018 Indonesia-Africa Forum next April. In a press briefing in Jakarta recently, Spokesperson of Foreign Affairs Ministry, Armanatha Nasir said one of the points to be discussed in the forum is digital economy. Since, the digital economy has great potential that can be developed in Africa.
“What we need to see is that now, the African population as a whole is nearly 1.3 billion people and the population growth until the 21st century that’s projected 40% growth will be present in Africa. So, we can imagine that their demographic dividend or demographic bonus will be the largest in Africa; the young will be in Africa, and this will be very potential for us to develop digital economy,” Armanatha Nasir said.
Armanatha further said that so far, the relationship between Indonesia and African countries is still in political sphere. At the upcoming forum, what to be encouraged are economic relations. He said the aim of the Indonesia-Africa Forum is to introduce Indonesia's superiority to Africa, and African excellence to Indonesia in the hope of opening wider trade cooperation. Meanwhile, Director for Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Daniel Tumpal Simanjuntak said that the meeting to take place in Bali on 10 and 11th of April will be opened by President Joko WI dodo. The forum will be attended by about 550 participants from 53 African countries. (VOI/Rifai/Trans by Rhm)
Indonesia through the Indonesian Institute of Sciences-LIPI with Singapore through the National University of Singapore -NUS will perform deep-sea expeditions in the southern part of Java to uncover the potential of deep- sea biodiversity on which there is no data yet. A total of 31 people consisting of researchers and technicians will hold the expedition from March 23 to April 5, 2018 in the southern part of Java Sea. This first deep- sea expedition also marks the 50th anniversary of Indonesia-Singapore diplomatic relations. This was stated by Deputy of Earth Science of LIPI, Zainal Arifin in his speech at the launch event of the expedition in Jakarta on Friday (March 23rd, 2018).
“Today, we will launch first joint expedition on deep sea biodiversity; this occasion also marks 50-year diplomatic cooperation between the government of Indonesia and Singapore. Around 30 researchers will participate in the expedition, the study area at the Java Sea, or Java Trench which is very deep I think 200 to 7000 meters deep. Our marine scientists are aware that the water condition in Southern part of Java is relatively rough with high waves which sometimes can reach to five meters high,” Zainal Arifin said.
Zainal Arifin also disclosed that the expedition in the next two years can be known whether new species are found. In addition, he expressed that this expedition is a special one because all parties involved comes from ASEAN countries. Previous deep-sea expeditions conducted in the world are dominated by western countries. Basically, this expedition will be divided into two major activities. The first one is on board activities which include sampling and handling of samples which then proceed with data compilation. The second one is post-expedition activities that include follow-up sampling, preparation of interim reports, and workshops. The results of the expedition are planned to be shared and discussed at a special workshop to be held in Indonesia in 2020. (VOI/Rezha/Rhm)
The Indonesian and British governments are cooperating to organize health education seminar in Jakarta on 23rd and 24th March. The theme is “Advancing the practice of inter-profession and health education cooperation in Indonesia". Director General of Science, Technology and Higher Education Cooperation at the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education, Ali Ghufron said that this is the first time for Indonesia and the United Kingdom to hold a seminar in the field of health education. In a press conference held in Jakarta on Friday (23 March), Ali Ghufron hopes that through this seminar, health education in Indonesia will no longer be segmented, and there are collaborations from various health professions. This seminar discusses inter-profession cooperation of health personnel to be applied in 5 universities that will be the pilot projects.
“The things we share are that from United Kingdom -UK, there is National Health Service -NHS and from us, we have National Health Insurance -JKN. Well, we want this sharing to produce an approach, not only inter-professional education, but also health service outcome which is cost-effective in the future,” Ali Ghufron said.
Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education along with the Ministry of Health through the joint Committee agreed to select 5 universities. They are University of Indonesia, Gajah Mada University, Airlangga University, Padjadjaran University, and Hasanudin University. By 2018, there will be indicators of achievement and evaluation of how inter-professional education is run. Head of Agency for Development and Empowerment of Human Resources at the Health Ministry, Usman Sumantri said that his Ministry welcomes this cooperation. He also added that health problems cannot be solved by one profession only. Thus, he does support such cooperation. (VOI/Skr/Trans by Rhm)
President Joko Widodo does hope that Musabaqah al-Quran and Hadiths can bring about a positive impact on the life of nation and state. Speaking before the participants of Silaturrahim Musabaqah of the 10th Annual Al-Quran and Hadiths -Prince Sulthan bin Abdul Aziz al-Su'ud for Asia and Pacific at the State Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, the President said, at this moment, Indonesia has become a role model for other nations due to its ability in managing pluralism. He hopes Muslims in Indonesia cannot easily be trapped in slander and hatred committed by irresponsible people. He perceives that Indonesian Muslims should be able to transmit valuable experience in maintaining this harmony to the world level.
“I also want to remind that from every Musabaqah al-quran and hadith event, I hope it brings about the trace and benefit in Indonesian nation’s life. Moreover, Indonesia today continues to be a role model for many countries in managing diversity because we have 714 tribes, more than 1.100 local languages, but we remain harmonious and united. So, we must keep being watchful so that the Muslims in Indonesia are not trapped with e slander and incitement hatred. In fact, we must transmit valuable experience of the Indonesian Muslims to the world in maintaining harmony, unity and maintaining peace in the earth of Allah,” President Joko Widodo said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Religious Affairs, Lukman Hakim Syaifuddin said that the Musabaqah Memorizing of Al-Quran and Hadith is intended to maintain and protect the sanctity of Islamic teachings from deviant and extreme religious understandings. That’s why, he said that there must be the understanding and practice of Islam which are based on ‘Rahmatan Lil 'Alamin’ by improving the quality of understanding and practicing the values of al-Quran and Hadith in the daily practice of life both in the context of the life of the nation and state. (VOI/Ndy/Rhm)