VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia and Kenya will soon form a joint task force to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries, an Indonesian top minister said on Monday. 

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan in his personal Instagram account said the joint task force will discuss cooperation on three main areas: trade and investment, mining, and strategic defense.

He was in Kenya after attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2023 in Davos, Switzerland.

During his visit to the East African country, Pandjaitan conveyed President Joko Widodo’s congratulations to William Ruto, who has been elected as the President of the Republic of Kenya, and discussed several commitments and agreements.

He emphasized that those commitments and agreements were made to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation to benefit the two countries.

"I also explained that Indonesia's current vast wealth of natural resources has been allocated effectively to push sustainable development in various sectors," he said.

Among the sectors are renewable energy, mining, electric vehicle ecosystem, pharmaceuticals, defense and strategy, and digitizing public services and port operations.

"We conveyed that Indonesia is ready to share its experiences and best practices with Kenya in all of those sectors," the minister added.

He expressed the hope that his working visit to Kenya would strengthen relations between the two nations, especially since Kenya is one of the countries in East Africa that has had good relations with Indonesia since 1955.

The relations between the two countries were strengthened by the opening of the Indonesian Embassy in Nairobi in 1982 and the Kenyan Embassy in Jakarta in 2022.

"Hopefully, with this visit, the relations between Indonesia and Kenya can become stronger," he remarked. (antaranews)

The Bali provincial government is hoping that at least 700 thousand Chinese tourists will visit Bali in 2023 now that the Chinese government has allowed citizens to travel overseas.

"Before the pandemic, (the number of) Chinese tourists visiting Bali could reach up to 1.2 million (per year). It is hoped that a minimum of 70 percent of the initial number or a minimum of 700 thousand (tourists) can be achieved," Bali Deputy Governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati said here on Monday.

He further said he hoped that tourists from 20 cities in China who, before the pandemic began, came to Bali via direct flights would now come back to visit the province.

Sukawati said that in terms of quantity, Chinese tourists contribute significantly to tourist arrivals, with their number rivaling that of Australian tourists.

He expressed the hope that the arrival of tourists from China would support the achievement of Bali's international tourist arrivals target of 4.5 million in 2023.

"Previously, the foreign tourist target was 4.4 million from 7.6 million (total target) for Indonesia. Then, there was a change to 4.8 million, and the governor then conveyed (that Bali's target is) 4.5 million," he explained.

To attract international tourists, promotions have been carried out online and directly through participation in several important tourism events, he said.

However, the province is still faced with global challenges, such as the Russia-Ukraine war that has also affected the economy of other countries, he noted.

"Hopefully, for reasons of peace and tranquility, tourists can choose Bali as a place to rest. Bali's tourism has started to grow. The regional and central governments have worked hard," the deputy governor said. (Antaranews)

The operation of Bali International Hospital (BIH) at Sanur Health Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will be supported by native, foreign, and Indonesian diaspora health workers, state-owned PT Pertamina Bina Medika-Indonesia Healthcare Corporation (IHC) has informed.

The recruitment of specialist doctors for the hospital has been opened and 100 applications have been received so far, president director of PT Pertamina Bina Medika-IHC Mira Dyah Wahyuni said here on Monday.

She informed that her party is expecting as many applicants as possible since it will welcome both domestic and overseas doctors at the health SEZ.

"We will not limit (the number of registrants), as we will definitely choose anyone who is suitable with the (required) competence, either (they are) from Bali, Sanur, Klungkung, or other regions" she emphasized at a talk show on “Challenges and Opportunities of Indonesia's Medical Tourism”.

She said that applicants will have to go through a number of recruitment stages, thus BIH will have the best specialist doctors and medical personnel.

The recruitment process will comprise psychological tests, an English test, as well as a technical competency test, in accordance with the applicants’ fields of work, such as nursing, pharmacy, radiology, and so on.

The president director noted that actually, many Indonesian diaspora doctors want to return to work in the country, but are hindered by regulations and complicated requirements.

Hence, she said she expected the issuance of Regulation of Health Minister Number 1 of 2023 concerning the implementation of hospital business activities in Special Economic Zones to help more Indonesian doctors who graduated abroad to work in the country.

According to the regulation, they will not need to go through an adaptation process before working in Indonesia anymore.

"Foreign doctors are also welcome because health is a global issue and we can no longer create limitations (on foreign workers), (for instance) many Indonesian doctors have also opened (their own) clinics in Singapore and so on," Wahyuni said.

BIH will be equipped with 250 inpatient beds as well as a number of world-class centers of health excellence, especially in the fields of cardiology, oncology, neurology, critical illness management, gastroenterology, orthopedics, and medical examination.

Meanwhile, Deputy Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati said that the establishment of the health SEZ is highly anticipated by the people of the province.

However, the aspects that actually need to be well prepared are the supporting reasons for people to go to Sanur Health SEZ rather than seeking treatment abroad, for instance, by strengthening and promoting local philosophy and culture in the running of the SEZ, he added.

"(By establishing the health of the SEZ) here, it will not only offer medical tourism, but it will also be a place of (self) healing, thus everyone who comes will feel at peace," he said. (Antaranews)

Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan has invited the Saudi Arabian government to increase trade cooperation with Indonesia by holding meetings and forums for business actors from the two countries.

"We have come (to Riyadh) with the Indonesian business delegation to further strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia through the plan to establish (more) trade cooperation,” he said in a statement received here on Monday.

The cooperation aims to balance the trade balance as well as expand market opportunities and access for the main and potential export products of the two countries, he informed.

He made the statement during a meeting with Saudi Minister of Trade, Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, in Riyadh on Sunday (January 22, 2023) local time. The meeting was held as part of the Indonesian trade mission, which visited Saudi Arabia from January 21 to 23.

"We are certain that this trade cooperation plan will improve the bilateral trade relations between the two countries," the Indonesian minister said.

Indonesia and Saudi Arabia have agreed to encourage their business players to meet at a business forum to explore opportunities to expedite the increase of bilateral trade, he added.

The business forum will involve several large business actors from the two countries, especially those engaged in the food and beverages, agricultural, fishery, textile, automotive, as well as manufacturing industries, he said.

Al Qasabi welcomed the efforts made to increase trade cooperation between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, both in the bilateral and regional framework. He then urged that the cooperation plan be discussed at the technical level without delay by the two countries.

"Intensive communication between the government and the business sector is very important for encouraging an increased bilateral trade between the two countries," he stated.

From January to November 2022, the total trade between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia was recorded at US$7 billion, up 45.42 percent year on year (yoy).

During the same period, Indonesia's exports to Saudi Arabia reached US$1.84 billion, comprising oil and gas exports of US$200 thousand and the rest being non-oil and gas exports.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia ranked 24th as an export destination country for Indonesia. Indonesia's main export products to Saudi Arabia included motor cars, palm oil, prepared/preserved fish, sauces, and plywood.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s imports from Saudi Arabia touched US$5.17 billion, consisting of oil and gas imports of US$4.33 billion and non-oil and gas imports of US$842.30 million.

The main imported commodities included crude petroleum oils, petroleum oils, petroleum gases, acyclic alcohols, and ethylene polymers. (antaranews)