VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (voinews): President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is awaiting a report from the National Football Association (PSSI) on FIFA's potential sanctions against Indonesia following the removal of the country's status as the U-20 World Cup host.

"Yes, (the sanctions will be known) later after I meet Mr Thohir (Erick Thohir, head of PSSI), to find out what it is," the head of state stated in Bogor, West Java, on Friday.

Jokowi was officiating the Lido Special Economic Zone on the occasion.

He had sent the head of the National Football Association Erick Thohir to personally deliver a letter regarding the U-20 World Cup to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

However, FIFA stripped Indonesia of its rights to host the competition just after the meeting in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday (March 29), citing "current situation" as the reason without further elaboration.

Through its official announcement, FIFA stated that it is considering sanctions against Indonesia which will be announced later.

Jokowi spoke of already having given a directive to Thohir to report on his meeting with the FIFA president and also discuss possible sanctions that Indonesia might receive.

“He said that once he arrives (in Indonesia), he would immediately report to me," the president remarked.

Indonesia's right to host the U-20 World Cup was revoked following heated debates about the Israeli national team's participation in the competition.

The refusal of Bali Governor I Wayan Koster and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo to allow their regions to be used as venues for the team to compete also influenced the decision.

The revocation of the host status is a result of Indonesia violating its agreement as a host, which could lead to potential sanctions against the country.

One possible sanction is that the national U-20 team cannot compete in the event, as they are only allowed to participate in the final phase as a host after failing to qualify for the Asian Cup U-20 2023.

Deputy Head of PSSI, Zainudin Amali, stated on Thursday (March 30) that this situation is different, as FIFA could impose more severe sanctions than in 2015.

Possible sanctions could include the inability to host FIFA-authorized matches and the national team's disqualification from playing in the final round of the 2023 Asian Cup, Amali remarked. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Finance Ministry's Fiscal Policy Agency Head, concurrently the ASEAN Finance Deputy to Indonesia, Febrio Kacaribu expects the ASEAN region to continue to grow above four percent this year and remain attractive for investment.

"For that to be achieved, strengthening efforts on cooperation, collaboration, and interstate coordination among ASEAN countries should be carried out," Kacaribu remarked during the ASEAN Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting (AFCDM), as quoted from an official statement obtained here, Friday.

The ministry, along with Bank Indonesia (BI), organized AFCDM on Thursday (Mar 30) in Bali as a part of the first ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (1st AFMGM) series of meetings.

According to Kacaribu, Indonesian Chairmanship of ASEAN this year is an important momentum for Indonesia to demonstrate its key role in the region, especially in making ASEAN the global epicentrum of growth.

Indonesia is confident that its chairmanship theme of "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth" is a good representation of the region's resilience amid global uncertainties, such as inflation, disruption on supply chain, geopolitical crisis, and the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the same occasion, Deputy Governor of BI Dody Waluyo highlighted the ASEAN's need to intensify policy coordination in supporting economic recovery, encouraging development, and improving financial stability.

"ASEAN needs to bolster its synergy and collectively implement policies with regard to economic recovery and development, digital economy, and sustainable finance," Waluyo affirmed.

In addition, he emphasized the importance of conducting comprehensive assessments in order to strengthen cooperation among ASEAN countries in tackling potential future challenges.

Earlier, on Mar 28-30, three other meetings were successfully held: ASEAN Finance Deputies Meeting (AFDM), ASEAN Central Bank Deputies Meeting (ACDM), and ASEAN Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting + 3 (AFCDM+3).

The AFCDM was held with three main agendas: the agreement on the adoption of discussion agenda and series of activity arrangements, the talk on ASEAN chairmanship priority in the financial channel, the report on ASEAN's financial integration and road map for financial and monetary integration including other related agendas, and also the preparation of the first meeting of Finance Ministries and ASEAN Central Bank Governors as the main event of the series.

As for financial matters, the AFCDM discussed three priorities: Local Currency Transaction (LCT) and cross-border payment, cooperation in the fields of finance and health, and also food resilience.

The aforementioned three priorities, along with other agendas will be discussed within three strategic thrusts, i.e., recovery-rebuilding, digitalization, and sustainability.

Results of the meetings will be presented as inputs to the 1st AFMGM main event that will take place on Mar 31.

The agendas being discussed are expected to provide a concrete step from which the ASEAN countries can benefit. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Indonesia's Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) partner on early warning systems for disaster risk reduction.

This week, BMKG and USAID signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together to strengthen, develop, and promote scientific and technical cooperation activities on disaster early warning systems, according to a written statement issued by the US Embassy in Jakarta on Friday.

"BMKG Indonesia is very pleased to strengthen our cooperation with the United States through the USAID, so that we can learn from one another, primarily related to weather, climate, earthquake, and tsunami phenomena that significantly affect the safety and prosperity of the community of the two countries," Head of BMKG Dwikorita Karnawati stated.

Karnawati highlighted BMKG's hopes that the collaboration will generate and drive new knowledge and innovations deemed increasingly necessary in the provision of information and improvement of early warning systems amid the increasing challenges of disaster events.

Under the new agreement, the BMKG and USAID will partner to enhance impact-based forecasting, bolster the flash flood guidance system for the Asia and Pacific region, and improve earthquake notifications and tsunami warnings.

"We are pleased to deepen our partnership with the Government of Indonesia to address the challenges of climate change. Along with BMKG’s leadership, we are improving public early warning systems to provide information on weather, climate, earthquakes, and tsunamis that is timely, accurate, comprehensive, and easy to understand," USAID Indonesia Mission Director Jeff Cohen stated.

Cohen further remarked that USAID and BMKG will also conduct joint analysis, share information and best practices, and exchange visits.

The US Embassy noted in its statement that the two partners further plan to intensify their partnership through new grant agreements. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said on Thursday that he understood the public's disappointment over Indonesia's removal as the host of the U-20 World Cup, but appealed to all parties not to blame each other.

"I feel the same way, disappointed and sad, but we should not waste energy blaming one another," he said in a statement broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel from Maros, South Sulawesi, on Thursday.

He said that he had received a report from the Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) chairperson Erick Thohir regarding FIFA’s decision.

The President emphasized that he felt disappointment and sadness over the decision.

Jokowi called upon all parties to respect the decision and learn from it.

As a great nation, Indonesia must look forward and not dwell on the past, he added.

"Let us all learn valuable lessons from this, for Indonesian national football," he said.

The President directed Thohir to continue making maximum efforts to help Indonesia avoid FIFA sanctions and to seek opportunities to host other international events.

FIFA announced its decision to remove Indonesia as the U-20 host on Wednesday evening, citing current conditions. The decision was taken after Thohir met with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

FIFA's announcement came after some regional heads rejected the Israel U-20 national team's participation in U-20 matches in Indonesia.

The revocation of host status has made the Indonesian team ineligible for the U-20 since it failed the regular qualification route.

FIFA said it would consider sanctions for Indonesia in the near future.

Indonesia may even be isolated from the international sports world because of this unfortunate event. (Antaranews)