VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife will visit Japan from March 16-17 at Tokyo's invitation, his office said on Thursday, the first such visit in 12 years after Seoul announced a plan to end a protracted dispute over wartime forced labour.

South Korea said on Monday that its companies would compensate victims of forced labour under Japan's colonial rule from 1910-1945, seeking to end a dispute that has undercut U.S.-led efforts to present a unified front against China and North Korea.

Yoon will hold a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Yoon's office said in a statement, calling it "an important milestone in the improvement and development of relations between South Korea and Japan."

South Korea is an important neighbour with which Japan should cooperate in addressing various issues in the international community, Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a briefing.

“I hope that through this visit to Japan, Japan-Korea relations will further develop based on the friendly and cooperative relations that have existed since the normalization of diplomatic relations.”

He said "nothing has been decided" when asked about potential agenda items.

The Japanese government is also considering inviting Yoon to the Group of Seven (G7) summit meeting in Hiroshima this May, Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday night.

Yoon's office said he hoped to expand various security, economy, and cultural fields, and revitalise exchanges between people in the two countries "in order to overcome the unfortunate history of the past and move forward into the future."

South Korea's defence ministry said on Tuesday it would work with Japan to enhance security cooperation, including trilateral relations with the United States.

The two countries also agreed this week to negotiate to end export curbs on key electronics components.

Yoon will likely return from Tokyo with progress on harmonizing export controls and renewed Japanese backing of Seoul’s approach on North Korea, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul.

Yoon said earlier this month that cooperation with the United States and Japan has become more important than ever to overcoming North Korea's growing nuclear threats and other crises.

Kishida will be able to claim South Korean support for Japan’s evolving defense posture and trilateral coordination with the United States to maintain a rules-based order in Asia, he added.

"Not all history issues will be resolved, because between democracies reconciliation is a process, not an agreement," Easley said. "But the two leaders are determined to move cooperation forward on trade and security."

Relations plunged to their lowest point in decades after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese firms to pay reparations to former forced labourers. Fifteen South Koreans have won such cases, but none has been compensated.

Japan has said the matter was settled under a 1965 treaty and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Monday his government's stance had not changed.

Washington had pressed its allies in both countries to reconcile and called the latest announcements "groundbreaking," but several of the victims have vowed to reject the compensation, setting the stage for more political and legal battles.

U.S. President Joe Biden will host Yoon for a state visit on April 26, the White House and Yoon's office said on Tuesday.

It would be the second state visit of Biden's administration, and the first state visit to the United States by a South Korean president since 2011. (Reuters)

Jakarta (voinews): The government has issued a regulation concerning business licensing in Nusantara Capital City (IKN) that includes stipulating a zero-percent final income tax facility on income from gross circulation of certain businesses for MSMEs.

"This regulation indicates the government's support to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that are one of the pillars of the Indonesian economy," Head of the Nusantara Capital City Authority (OIKN), Bambang Susantono, stated in Nusantara, East Kalimantan, on Thursday.

The Government Regulation (PP) No. 12 of 2023, regarding the granting of business licenses, ease of doing business, and investment facilities for business actors in IKN aims to provide greater certainty, opportunities, and participation for business actors to accelerate the development of Nusantara.

Greater participation from these business actors is expected to ensure equitable distribution of development, including accelerating the movement of the Indonesian economy going forward.

Susantono reiterated that the issuance of PP No. 12 of 2023 is proof that the government is serious about providing legal certainty and ease of doing business for business actors keen to participate in the development of Nusantara.

He believes that the issuance of this regulation will have a positive impact on economic circulation, including being able to accelerate the development of IKN, with investment from the private sector, both from within and outside the country.

"The issuance of this PP is a concrete form of direction from the President of Indonesia Joko Widodo to provide an attractive policy package, with the maximum possible incentives, within the corridor of the applicable law," Susantono reaffirmed.

PP No. 12 of 2023 covers five scopes of regulation related to business licensing, ease of doing business, investment facilities, supervision, and evaluation.

Some 12 articles are related to business licensing, 10 articles pertaining to ease of doing business, 42 articles for the scope of investment facilities, and two articles for the scope of supervision, and one article related to evaluation.

He invited the public to thoroughly study PP No. 12 of 2023 to be able to fully comprehend the essence of this PP as a whole and not in bits and parts to prevent wrong perceptions from arising.

Susantono also said that in future, legal products derived from this PP would also be issued, specifically to regulate in detail the implementation of the PP.

"Relevant ministries and institutions will immediately issue derivative regulations, such as Minister of Finance Regulations (PMK) and OIKN Head Regulations, namely to explain the mechanism and procedures," Susantono stated. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has expressed his belief that the application of modern aquaculture management in shrimp farming areas in Kebumen District, Central Java Province, could serve as an example for other regions in applying similar practices.

"Modern (aquaculture) management that we see today can be an example that can be emulated by other provinces and districts later," he remarked while inaugurating the Area-Based Shrimp Cultivation Ponds on Thursday.

He noted that a detailed management system was required for the shrimp farming business to support the production of ponds.

A detailed management system is implemented in whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) cultivation ponds in Kebumen District, which is able to maintain the cleanliness of water to optimize the production of the commodity.

The president stated that every hectare of the facility is estimated to generate over 40 tons of shrimp.

Jokowi remarked that the area of the Area-Based Shrimp Cultivation Ponds had currently reached 60 hectares.

According to information on the site of the Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) Ministry, there are currently 149 aquaculture ponds in the 60-hectare area.

The government is targeting to further develop the area to reach 100 hectares, with about 200 to 210 farming ponds.

Meanwhile, Rp175 billion (US$11.27 million) was spent to build the facility.

The ministry also noted that the shrimp cultivation facility is the largest one in Indonesia. The pond also meets the best practice for modern shrimp cultivation from an environmental perspective.

The ministry expects that the development of the Area-Based Shrimp Cultivation Ponds can help the government achieve the national shrimp production target of two million tons in 2024.

While visiting the shrimp farming facility on January 13, 2023, KKP Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono stated that the potential economic value of the facility was worth Rp400 billion (US$25.75 million) per year.

He expected that the cultivation area would be able to create direct jobs for 300 people.

Hence, he called on the local government to prioritize recruiting local residents as workers in the aquaculture area. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto has vowed to accelerate the rejuvenation of smallholder palm oil plantations that had only reached 200 thousand hectares in 2022, from the targeted 540 thousand hectares.

To achieve this, the government is opening access to palm oil rejuvenation through a partnership scheme between planters and partner companies with several conditions, including the use of certified seeds, plantation management according to the ISPO criteria, and a commitment from the company to become an off-taker.

"Under these conditions, of course, we encourage the availability of seeds to be prepared properly and also to work with off-takers, so that the planters can encourage this replanting program, including making this program bankable," Hartarto noted in an official statement on Thursday.

Hartarto said that in 2022, 717 members of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) control 3.69 million hectares, or around 22 percent of the national palm oil area spread across 21 provinces.

Through the 11th Gapki National Conference held on Wednesday (Mar 8), he hopes that the new management of Gapki will make a real contribution to accelerating the achievement of the target of smallholder palm oil rejuvenation and Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification.

"The government encourages all members of Gapki to be optimistic about the prospects for the national economy. We know that palm oil is one of the world's most popular vegetable oils, and the price is more affordable compared to other vegetable oils," he stated.

He said the government is committed to ensuring that Indonesian palm oil remains competitive in the export market as it has become a primary export commodity.

Palm oil plantations can directly employ 16 million workers, both those who work directly in plantations and indirectly.

"Palm oil companies are also able to increase the added value of their products and contribute significantly to non-oil and gas foreign exchange earnings in 2022 of 12.76 percent," he stated. (Antaranews)