VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) called on cabinet ministers serving in national sports federations to manage their time properly to ensure that they continue to work optimally in fulfilling all their responsibilities.

The president made the statement in response to queries regarding whether Minister of State-owned Enterprises Erick Thohir and Minister of Youth and Sports Zainudin Amali must resign after both were elected as executives of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) at its recent Extraordinary Congress on Thursday (February 15).

"The most important (aspect) is that they can manage their time properly," Jokowi stated after attending the United Development Party's (PPP's) 50th anniversary commemoration event in Tangerang, Banten, Friday (February 17).

Thohir and Amali are not the only cabinet ministers to hold responsibilities at sports federations, he remarked.

Jokowi noted that Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono, and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto have all taken up the role of chairpersons of sports federations while serving in the cabinet.

"We also know that Basuki is serving as the head of rowing (association), while Airlangga is the head of wushu (association). Luhut can serve as PASI (Indonesia Athletics Federation) head and Prabowo is serving as the head of pencak silat (association)," the president pointed out.

Pandjaitan is serving as chairperson of the Indonesia Athletics Federation (PASI) for the 2021-2025 term, while Hartarto has been reelected as chairperson of the Indonesia Wushu Association (WI) for the 2022-2026 term after serving the organization in the 2017-2021 term.

Meanwhile, Hadimuljono is currently serving as chairperson of the Indonesia Rowing and Canoeing Association (PODSI) for the 2021-2025 term and the Indonesia Gateball Association (Pergatsi) since 2015.

Subianto has also been active in the development of Indonesian martial arts pencak silat since 2004 and is serving as chairperson of the Indonesia Pencak Silat Federation (IPSI) for the 2021-2025 term.

Hence, the president stated that with their new responsibilities in PSSI, Thohir and Amali would face new challenges in their management capabilities.

"This is (related to) management issues, time management, organizational management, and planning management -- all of them are management issues," Jokowi remarked. (Antaranews)

Indonesia has invited Canada to collaborate with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to develop an electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem in the region.

Speaking at a seminar in Jakarta on Friday, director general for ASEAN cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sidharto Surdyodipuro, said that Canada has significant potential in the area of energy transition, which could make Southeast Asia remain an epicenter of economic growth.

"It (Canada) has abundant resources in critical minerals, such as cobalt and lithium. Canada can support and collaborate in the region in developing certain fields such as the electric vehicle ecosystem that we, ASEAN, are pursuing as well as (support) renewable energy," he added at the seminar, which was also attended by the Ambassador of Canada to Indonesia Nadia Burger.

Suryodipuro had earlier said that ASEAN member states are in talks for developing a regional ecosystem of electric vehicles. According to him, Indonesia and other countries in the region share a common understanding on that matter.

"How we can create a regional (EV) ecosystem that adopts the same or at least similar regulations? So every producer has a regional outlook and is not only focusing on the domestic (market),” he said.

Indonesia has a comparative advantage, or possibly a competitive advantage, in the electric vehicle field, he added.

As one of the world’s largest economies, Southeast Asia should set its own standards for EVs, he said.

"EV producers such as China, South Korea, and the US have different standards. But, what if Southeast Asia creates its own standards that other (countries) will also follow? We are optimistic that ASEAN can be the region to set a standard," he told the forum.

ASEAN foreign ministers gathered in Jakarta earlier this month to discuss the priorities of Indonesia's chairmanship of the ASEAN this year. Indonesia has proposed four main aspects under its “epicentrum of growth” pillar, one of which is energy security.

“Indonesia will propose an outcome that will attain the ASEAN region as the epicentrum of growth. Four main aspects that will be our focus (include) ensuring energy security to support the transition from fossil energy to clean and renewable energy, among others, by developing a regional electric vehicle ecosystem,” Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said at the 32nd ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) meeting earlier this month. (antaranews)

Japan is seeking to control the sea to promote maritime sovereignty and a free and open Indo-Pacific policy, a top diplomat said.

"The ASEAN region is in Japan's vital shipping lanes. To control the sea, we need cooperation," Deputy Director of the Second Division of Southeast Asia, Department of Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kaneko Kazuya said here on Saturday.

The Indo-Pacific region is currently facing many challenges, starting from piracy, terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), to natural disasters, he noted.

Amid these challenges, Japan is seeking to promote peace, stability, and prosperity throughout the region to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

This needs to be pursued by ensuring an international order based on rules, including the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful settlement of disputes, and promotion of free trade.

The idea of realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific region is based on the concept of controlling the sea by emphasizing the rule of law in the maritime area.

Efforts that need to be made to make this happen include disaster mitigation as well as handling cases of pirate terror and illegal fishing operations.

To achieve order in the maritime area around the Pacific Ocean, Japan sees the need to increase cooperation with ASEAN member countries.

Furthermore, Kaneko said there are three pillars that need to be considered to realize legal sovereignty in the maritime area, with the first being the need to build connectivity around the ASEAN region.

Next, quality facilities and infrastructure for the navy also need to be developed, in addition to efforts to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement capabilities at sea.

Japan's efforts to increase cooperation with ASEAN countries were emphasized by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a meeting with the United States in January this year.

"He said that ASEAN is the most important partner for Japan in realizing security in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean," he said.

"For this reason, Japan needs to establish absolute cooperation with ASEAN countries," he added.  (Antaranews)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to India next week for G20 finance meetings that will focus on unblocking distressed-country debt restructuring, boosting support for Ukraine and reforming multilateral development banks, a Treasury official said.

Yellen will join fellow G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Bengaluru on Feb. 23-25, spanning the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The senior Treasury official told reporters on Friday that Yellen would take every opportunity to criticize Russia's actions and to work with allies to try to mitigate spillovers that the conflict has caused, including addressing food insecurity and high energy prices.

Yellen will also emphasize the need to increase financial support for Ukraine, including a new International Monetary Fund loan program, the official said.

"I wouldn't expect her to engage with Russian counterparts in any way other than to forcefully refute any incorrect statements they make during the meetings," the official said. "And to be very direct in her criticism of Russia and Russia's war."

The official said Yellen had no meetings with Chinese counterparts to announce at present. Yellen said last week that she hopes to travel to China for high-level economic meetings, but the timing would be up to the State Department and the Pentagon after of the recent downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon that floated over the continental United States.

PRESSING FOR DEBT RELIEF

At the G20 meetings, Yellen will press China to "quickly deliver" on debt relief for distressed low- and middle-income countries, the official said.

China is due to participate in a debt roundtable discussion organized by host India, the IMF and the World Bank that will focus on broader issues that are creating roadblocks to debt relief deals for Zambia, Sri Lanka and other countries. Among the sticking points is China's insistence that World Bank and other multilateral lenders share in the pain of taking debt "haircuts."

The official said the Treasury would "love" to see a deal struck on Zambian debt at the meetings, but the roundtable's main purpose is to make sure that a range of creditors and borrowers, including private sector creditors, all understand the types of, and how to define, common treatment of creditors.

"I wouldn't say the sovereign debt roundtable is about China specifically. It's about trying to make sure that we have a functioning common framework and a functioning way to get to that treatment," the official said.

WORLD BANK REFORMS

Yellen will also press for consensus on reforming multilateral development banks to vastly expand their lending to tackle pressing global challenges such as climate change and conflict, while maintaining their core missions of reducing poverty, the official said.

The issue was drawn into sharper focus this week by World Bank President David Malpass' surprise early departure announcement.

The Treasury official said that the bank's evolution would be a major topic of discussion and that the entire department was focused on ensuring that multilateral development banks were "fit for purpose in the 21st century."

The Treasury said Yellen will hold a news conference on Feb. 23 and will hold bilateral meetings in Bengaluru with the finance ministers of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, and Britain, Jeremy Hunt. (Reuters)