VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (voinews): Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan stated that his Saudi Arabian counterpart has expressed commitment to bolstering the productivity of bilateral trade and addressing trade issues between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

"The Saudi Commerce Minister (Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi) is committed to addressing various economy and trade issues between our two countries," Hasan noted in a statement received here on Wednesday.

Hasan had earlier attended an iftar (fast-breaking) gathering with Al-Qasabi in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday (April 18). Saudi Minister of State Mohammad bin Abdul Malik Al Ash-Shaikh also attended the gathering.

Before the April 18 meeting, Hasan had met Al-Qasabi during two other instances at the G20 last year and during Hasan's working visit to Saudi Arabia last January.

He said the Saudi minister's commitment aligns with the Saudi Food and Drug Administration's (SFDA's) decision to accord export exemptions for Indonesia's poultry products to Saudi Arabia on condition that the products have been heated.

"Moreover, next May, the SFDA will also conduct on-site inspections on eight of Indonesia's fish processing units, thereby allowing our fishery products to be exported to Saudi Arabia," the minister explained.

Meanwhile, the Saudi trade minister stated that Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman had signed an agreement to establish the Saudi Arabia-Indonesia Bilateral Committee.

"Two days ago, MBS approved and signed the establishment of a bilateral committee between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia that will be headed by MBS and President Joko Widodo and will consist of four cooperation fields," Al-Qasabi stated.

He also expressed optimism that the committee would provide solutions to address all hindrances posed to the bilateral relations, thereby enabling to further enhance relations between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

Moreover, state minister Al Ash-Shaikh expressed gratitude for Indonesia's support for the international conference on intellectual property rights expected to take place in Riyadh in 2024.

"We thank Indonesia for supporting the international conference," he stated. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): The Indonesian Embassy in Paris, France opens Bahasa Indonesia for Foreign Speakers (BIPA) class, Ambassador to France, Andorra, Monaco and the Indonesian Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Mohammad Oemar told VOI News on Tuesday.

“Every year we organize the courses for French speaking people. We received students from France, Belgium, Switzerland, and other countries too,” he said.

“Language is an important pillar of our culture, by promoting our language we could strengthen mutual understanding between Indonesian and French people,” he added.

Other than culture promotion, the business Bahasa Indonesia language course is specifically developed for French businessmen who are interested to learn the language.

“This could become a tool for them to communicate with Indonesian businessmen. This would also attract French investors to invest in Indonesia,” Oemar said. (VOI)

Jakarta (voinews): National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Head Suharso Monoarfa said one of the priorities of Indonesia, as 2023 ASEAN Chair, is strengthening the initiatives of ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific through concrete and inclusive development cooperation.

"With this approach, ASEAN, like Indonesia, prioritizes four areas of cooperation in the region, namely maritime cooperation, connectivity, the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and the economy," Monoarfa stated during a bilateral meeting with President of the French-Indonesia and Timor Leste Inter-Parliament Friendship Group Marc-Philippe Daubresse, as quoted from his official Instagram page @suharsomonoarfa here, Wednesday.

The agency head said, Indonesia has worked on triangular cooperation with several Asia-Pacific countries in the context of Indo-Pacific and will explore other potential partnerships, including with France.

He is optimistic of strengthening and expanding Indonesia's bilateral relations with France, especially in several priority focus areas, such as the maritime, climate, and low-carbon sectors.

"In digital technology and IT (Information Technology), I also hope to expand cooperation in eco-fishing, marine biodiversity research vessels, maritime meteorological systems, strengthening climate services, data centers, digitizing broadcasting systems, as well as grant facilities to promote low-carbon development on land and at sea," he remarked.

Until now, the government has initiated cooperation with France, especially in the fields of maritime affairs and fisheries, defense, the creative economy, as well as research and technology.

In recent years, defense cooperation between Indonesia and France has been further intensified by the finalization of the purchase of several French defense equipment by Indonesia.

"Apart from that, there is also the potential for additional purchases of further defense equipment," Monoarfa stated. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): The Ambassador of the European Union to ASEAN Igor Driesmans and the Deputy Secretary General for ASEAN Economic Community, Satvinder Singh, presented the ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS) Gold Partner awards to two ASEAN logistics companies from Malaysia and Thailand.

ACTS is an online ASEAN customs system, which enables the private sector in ASEAN to benefit fully from the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the free movement of goods across the ASEAN region.

ACTS was developed by ASEAN with the financial support of the European Union under the ARISE Plus program.

“The EU is a proud partner of ASEAN and fully recognizes the role of the private sector in making the ASEAN Economic Community a true reality for everyone in the region,” Igor Driesmans said in a release received by VOI News on Wednesday.

During the closing ceremony of the ARISE Plus project in Jakarta, Driesmans and Singh presented the ACTS Awards for Outstanding Companies to City Zone Express Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia, and AMAZING Logistics and Supply Chain Co., Ltd, Thailand for the high number of ACTS movements the companies conducted in 2022.

“ARISE Plus has been instrumental in the implementation of the ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS), which has reduced costs, increased the speed of border clearance, and facilitated trade between the ASEAN Member States,” Singh said in his opening remarks.

“The private sector has benefited significantly, with a 30 to 40 percent reduction in costs when using the ACTS compared to other transit modes available in the region,” he added.

“I would describe ACTS benefits as seamless clearance, faster transit, precise timing, and cost reduction,” S. Pirithivaraj Selvarajoo, Director of City Zone Express Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia said.

“I discovered under ACTS we can shorten the transit time from Bangkok to Singapore. It takes only two and a half days. This has never happened before,” Witoon Santibunyarat, Group Managing Director of AMAZING Logistics and Supply Chain Co., Ltd, Thailand said.

Established on 8 November 2012, the ARISE and its successor ARISE Plus have been the EU’s flagship program in supporting ASEAN’s economic integration.

For over ten years, the project focused its support on four components: Trade Facilitation and Regulatory Transparency, Standards and Conformance, Customs, Transport, and Transit, Monitoring, and Statistics.

“The success of the ACTS highlights the importance of continued collaboration between ASEAN, ASEAN Member States, ASEAN private sectors, and international partners,” Igor Driesmans added.

“As ASEAN’s strategic partner, the EU is committed to continuing our support for ASEAN’s integration across all three pillars of the ASEAN Community”, he said. (VOI)