VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta: Ambassador of Syria to Indonesia Abdulmonem Annan said that recovery is underway for Syria following the earthquake that hit the country in February.

The ambassador spoke to VOI News on Monday in commemoration of Syrian Independence Day, also known as Evacuation Day, noting the day when the occupying French troops left their posts in Syrian territory.

“We are very thankful to the Government of Indonesia and the friendly people of Indonesians for their material, financial, and emotional support to the victims of the earthquake,” Annan said during the interview.

“We are now coping with the aftermath of the disaster, and we need a lot of assistance. We are a country that has been crippled by 15 years of sanctions, and it's difficult to address the impacts with effective and holistic planning. No country can manage this alone without international assistance,” he said.

The earthquake, which also hit Turkey, destroyed 2/3 of the buildings, causing people to live in shelter centers donated by international aid agencies and halting formal education for children.

“We hope the sanctions are lifted soon so we can receive help to reconstruct the country,” he said.

On another note, the ambassador wants to improve diplomatic relations with Indonesia. He claimed that he is dissatisfied with the current level.

“We have so many cultural proximities and affiliations. Our potential trade value could reach $1 billion. Right now it's at around $150 million, this is a very modest number,” Annan said.

He wishes to focus on the relations, especially in the religion and education sectors. (VOI)

Jakarta (voinews): Head of the Agency of Domestic Policy Strategy (BSKDN) of the Home Affairs Ministry Yusharto Huntoyungo has appealed to regional governments to implement local-based food diversification to secure food availability in their regions.

"Regions must think about being closer to the localities in their respective regions, including those related to food. This is what the BSKDN needs to direct to regions," he said, according to a press release received on Monday.

He made the statement while chairing the Meeting for the Implementation of Food Diversification Implementation in the Papua Region here on Monday.

According to him, diversification can become the regional governments' effort to reduce residents' dependence on a certain type of food, such as rice. This would allow regions to guarantee food availability independently for their residents, he explained.

Huntoyungo further said that through the implementation of food diversification, people could become more active, healthy, and productive.

He noted that Article 60 paragraph 2 of Law Number 18 of 2012 concerning Food states that the diversification of food consumption is aimed at increasing people's awareness and developing a diet that is diverse, nutritionally balanced, and safe, in accordance with local potential and wisdom.

He recommended six local foods as alternatives to rice, such as cassava, corn, bananas, taro, potatoes, and sago.

"Regional governments can offer innovations to regions, for example, starting from the innovations in food production machines at sago factories, so that later sago production is not limited for the district, but is broader than that," he said.

He informed that so far, several provincial governments of new autonomous regions (DOB) in Papua have allocated budgets for the implementation of food diversification in their respective regions.

"There is even a province from DOB in Papua that has allocated a fund of around Rp30 billion to support food diversification at the local level," he added.

He said that Home Affairs Deputy Minister John Wempi Wetimpo has asked his agency to promptly take action so that the efforts made by the DOB provinces in Papua can be directed better.  (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): The banking crisis in Europe and the United States should remain a cause for concern—as a medium- to long-term challenge—for the global economy, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Monday.

This was one of the conclusions of the 2023 Spring Meetings of the IMF-World Bank in Washington. The meetings discussed whether Europe’s and the US' banking crisis is under control or should still be monitored.

"High inflation, high-interest rate, and liquidity tightening affect the financial sector, especially banking," she said during a press conference on the April 2023 edition of APBN KiTa, which was followed online on Monday.

She said that the world is still experiencing high inflation, both Consumer Price Index (CPI) and core inflation, which is being responded to with an increase in monetary policy interest rates, which will remain high until inflation comes under control.

This policy, in addition to liquidity tightening to control the demand side of the economy, will weaken economic growth in countries that have issued such a policy.

The combination of high inflation and interest rates is also expected to cause the economies of developed countries, such as the US and European countries, to slow down significantly in 2023.

This could affect developing countries and developing markets, which rely heavily on export.

In addition, China's policy to reopen the economy has not yet helped recover the country's economy significantly yet, she informed.

"This condition means that the world's economic source is still very weak this year, which will affect the volume and export-import transaction between countries, which will certainly decline," she said.

To this end, the global economic growth projection from various international institutions in 2023 is still quite low, around 2.8 percent, from the realization in 2022 with 3.4 percent or 6.3 percent in 2021.

Meanwhile, inflation is estimated to still remain high for developing countries and reach 8.6 percent this year, while the figure is expected to touch 4.7 percent for developed countriesand 7 percent for the whole world.

"This means that inflation will still be quite high for a long period of time or higher for longer," the minister said. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Monday inaugurated the 3-thousand-square-meter Indonesian Pavilion at the 2023 Hannover Messe trade fair, in which Indonesia is participating as an official partner.

“Welcome to the Indonesian Pavilion, a pavilion that is specially designed by following the shape of Indonesia’s traditional vessel, Pinisi vessel. We want to present Indonesia’s spirit in facing future challenges,” he remarked in Hannover, Germany.

Widodo made the statement during the inauguration of the Indonesian Pavilion at Hall 2 of Hannover Fairground. The ceremony was attended by the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz.

"I invite you, ladies and gentlemen, to this pavilion to see Indonesia as a 'Land of Opportunity' and a hub of future manufacture," he said.

The Pinisi vessel design stand has two main masts and seven sails, he explained.

The two main masts signify Indonesia's transformation foundations, namely industrial downstreaming and clean energy acceleration.

Meanwhile, the seven sails illustrate the priority sectors promoted by Indonesian co-exhibitors, namely food, textile, automotive, electronic, chemical, medical devices, and pharmaceutical sectors.

Widodo stressed that the acceleration of the transformation of the Indonesian industry will contribute to the revival of regional and global economies.

"Therefore, with the spirit of infinite journey, let us sail together and accelerate transformation for a better world. Because, investing in Indonesia means investing in a better future. Thus, I officially open the Indonesian Pavilion at the 2023 Hannover Messe," he said.

Indonesia has once again become one of the partner countries at Hannover Messe after the 2021 edition of the fair, which was held virtually due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Indonesia is the first Southeast Asian country to become a partner country at the trade fair, which has drawn at least 4 thousand exhibitors, among others, with 157 co-exhibitors from Indonesia.

As a partner country, Indonesia has raised the "Making Indonesia 4.0" theme to show Indonesia's initiative in pushing environmental sustainability and economic transformation. (Antaranews)