VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan appealed to the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) to facilitate access for Indonesian products to penetrate Saudi Arabia's markets.

Minister Hasan made the request during his meeting with Executive President of SFDA Hisham bin Saad Al-Jadhey in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, local time.

"I expect SFDA to follow up some items that have become Indonesia's concern in order to facilitate the registration process of Indonesian products in Saudi Arabia, so Indonesian products can be consumed by Hajj pilgrims, particularly Hajj pilgrims from Indonesia," the minister noted in a written statement received here on Wednesday.

The two met to boost Indonesian exports to Saudi Arabia as well as address some issues that could potentially impede the initiative.

He urged SFDA to be able to facilitate access for Indonesian products, such as processed foods, fisheries products, poultry, and meat, as well as discuss about cooperation in the certification of halal products.

Indonesia has exported poultry and meat to Japan, Singapore, Timor Leste, and Papua New Guinea. It also exports fisheries products to the United States, China, Japan, Swiss, Norway, Iceland, and some more countries.

"I urge SFDA to conduct technical meeting to push for the registration process of Indonesian products and pursue discussion in terms of cooperation for halal products, so that Indonesian products, particularly agricultural and fisheries products from Indonesia, can penetrate Saudi Arabia markets," he emphasized.

The minister believed that bilateral relations between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia would improve, as it was supported by the plan to formulate a trade agreement between Indonesia and Gulf Cooperation Council, in which Saudi Arabia was a member.

Al-Jadhey noted in the meeting that Indonesia was the largest Muslim country in the world, and bilateral relations between both nations were quite strong.

Saudi Arabia has set certain standards for some products, and Indonesia has high-quality products to offer. To this end, SFDA believes that Indonesian products could be accepted in Saudi Arabian markets. They will strive to facilitate Indonesian products, so they can be marketed in the middle eastern country.

"For Indonesian products' registration, particularly fisheries products, poultry, meat, and cooperation in halal aspects, we will immediately follow up on (those matters). We will conduct technical meeting with partners in Indonesia to discuss about the registration process, including on fees, as well as discussion about halal (certifications), so Indonesian products can get into Saudi Arabia's markets immediately," he affirmed.

He expects the two countries' bilateral relations to grow stronger, as there were still several potential areas for collaboration that the two could explore together.  (Antaranews)

Bali has been named the 2nd most popular tourist destination in the world in 2023 by the Travelers' Choice Award organized by TripAdvisor. This year Bali managed to move up 2 places from last year's 4th place and managed to outperform London and Paris in 3rd and 4th places.

The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, Sandiaga Uno, is proud and appreciates this achievement.

In The Weekly Brief With Sandi Uno, Tuesday (24/1) in Jakarta, Sandiaga explained that with this achievement, Bali could become a feeder for Indonesia's 5 super priority destinations and hoped that in the future there would be one super priority destination that would also achieve this achievement.

"And here Bali can become a feeder, that Bali's task is not only as a destination, but also as a feeder for our 5 super priority destinations. And hopefully in the next 5 years there will be 1 of our super priority destinations that will break into this top ten. And I hope Bali can also enter as the first rank in the years to come, “said Sandiaga.

The Travelers' Choice Award for destinations rating indicator is based on the quality and quantity of reviews during the period November 2021 to October 2022. TripAdvisor ranks Dubai as the most popular destination in the world in 2023.

The following is the TripAdvisor ranking of the top 10 most popular destinations in the world for 2023:

1. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2. Bali, Indonesia

3. London, England

4. Rome, Italy

5. Paris, France

6. Cancun, Mexico

7. Crete, Greece

8. Marrakech, Morocco

9. Dominican Republic

10. Istanbul, Turkey (VOI/Thiodor)

The continued growth of investment realization in regions outside Java reflects the government's consistency in implementing Indonesia-centric or uniform development, Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia has said.

"This reflects that the government's consistency in realizing Indonesia-centric (development) is maintained, especially in the investment sector," he observed at a press conference on investment realization in the fourth quarter of 2022 on Tuesday.

The minister said that since the roles of investment are to create new economic growth centers and open new working opportunities, it is necessary to direct investment to realize equitable development.

"So that we do not build Indonesia as a Java-centric (country), but (by using the concept of) Indonesia-centric," he added.

As per the Investment Ministry’s records, nationally, the total investment realization in the fourth quarter of 2022 reached Rp314.8 trillion, or up 30.3 percent year on year (yoy).

Cumulatively, investment realization in the period from January to December 2022 reached Rp1,207.2 trillion, an increase of 34 percent compared to 2021.

The figure exceeded the target set by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) of Rp1,200 trillion.

Investment realization in regions outside Java in the fourth quarter of 2022 reached Rp164.2 trillion, or 52.2 percent of the total investment realized during the period.

Further, investment realization in areas outside Java cumulatively reached Rp636.3 trillion, or 52.7 percent of the total investment realized during January—December 2022.

Meanwhile, investment realization in Java region was recorded at Rp150.6 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2022, reaching 47.8 percent of the total investment realization in the quarter.

Thus, the investment realization in Java region was recorded at Rp570.9 trillion during January—December 2022, or 47.3 percent of the total investment realization in 2022.

The ministry also noted that the five sectors with the most investment realization in 2022 included basic metal, metal goods, non-machinery goods, and their equipment manufacture; mining industry; as well as transportation, warehouse, and telecommunication providers.

The other sectors comprised housing, industrial, and office area provision as well as chemical and pharmaceutical industries. (Antaranews)

The Agriculture Ministry has said that the production target for rice this year is 54.5 million tons, the same as the target set last year.

“(The production targets for other commodities include) Corn with a moisture content of 27 percent of 23.05 million tons, soybeans with 370 thousand tons, and chilies 2.93 million tons," secretary general of the ministry Kasdi Subagyono said during a meeting with Commission IV of the House of Representatives, which was followed from here on Tuesday.

The target for shallots is 1.71 million tons, garlic 45.45 thousand tons, coffee 810 thousand tons, cocoa 780 thousand tons, sugarcane 37.15 million tons, coconut 2.99 million tons, beef 465.15 thousand tons, and chicken meat 3.87 million tons.

Most of the production targets for agricultural commodities in 2023 are not much different compared to those set in 2022.

The target for rice in 2022 was 54.5 million tons, with the realization reaching 55.44 million tons.

The target for corn production was 23.1 million tons, with the realization reaching 25.18 million tons; soybeans 280 thousand tons, with the realization recorded at 300 thousand tons; shallots 1.64 million tons, with the realization registered at 1.72 million tons.

The chilies production target was 2.87 million tons, but the realization was only 2.73 million tons. The target for sugarcane was 34.99 million tons, coffee 790 thousand tons, beef/buffalo meat 440 thousand tons, and chicken meat 3.54 million tons, with the realization reaching 3.77 million tons.

He informed that the main efforts to increase agricultural productivity in 2023 will cover the food crop, horticulture, plantation, and livestock sectors.

"For the Directorate General of Food Crops, (the efforts will include) the optimization of rice planting index improvement, development of biofortified rice, development of corn areas, development of soybeans, and development of integrated farming," he elaborated.

Then, in the horticulture sector, the ministry will develop horticultural villages, agro-industry, seed production, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and sustainable food yards.

“(The other efforts will cover) Plantations, smallholder household corporations, seed production of 15 million stems, and development of coffee, coconut, cashew, cocoa, and areca nut areas," Subagyono informed.

The efforts will also cover improving the downstreaming of areca nut exports, developing farmer-cooperation-based sago, pushing for self-sufficiency in sugar consumption, and developing non-cane sugar, stevia, palm sugar, and coconut.

As for livestock, the ministry will optimize the reproduction and handling of foot-and-mouth disease, development of goat and sheep cooperatives, swallow’s nests, beef cattle based on grazing, and the integration of cattle and palm oil, as well as the development of corporate cattle villages, and the optimization of reproduction and handling of PMK.

The ministry's program for those developments will be supported by Rp15.32 trillion in the 2023 budget ceiling, plus an additional automatic adjustment of Rp1.05 trillion. (Antaranews)