VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Deputy Manpower Minister Afriansyah Noor is offering training for members of the community to encourage them to open their own micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to anticipate mass layoffs (PHK) due to the recession.

"With a recession or inflation hitting Europe and the United States, there will be massive layoffs, especially in labor-intensive sectors. Indonesia is one of the countries that exports labor-intensive products, such as shoes, footwear, garments, and textiles," Noor stated in Bengkulu City, Saturday.

Hence, the Ministry of Manpower and all governments at the provincial, district, and city levels are preparing Vocational Training Centers (BLK) to train people to be capable of being MSMEs entrepreneurs, he remarked.

He noted that the development of BLK across Indonesia aligned with President Joko Widodo's direction of developing 34 BLK or Central Technical Implementation Units (UPTP) in 34 provinces.

“The president’s target is to focus on building 34 BLK or UPTP under the Ministry of Manpower outside the four newly formed provinces,” he remarked.

If the training provided is able to help the community (members) in growing their own MSMEs, then the economy will remain stable despite the mass layoffs ahead of the recession, Noor remarked.

Earlier, he also reviewed the development of BLK to become a national-scale UPTP located in Panorama Village, Bengkulu City.

"We are observing the preparation location for the large UPTP BLK from the Ministry of Manpower, where we have collaborated with Bengkulu Province to jointly build the BLK," he explained.

He stated that construction of the UPTP BLK Bengkulu aims to benefit people in Bengkulu Province, and although the UPTP is on a national scale, it will prioritize the people of Bengkulu.

Meanwhile, Bengkulu Governor Rohidin Mersyah stated that the Bengkulu Provincial Government had prepared 2.3 hectares of land for the construction of UPTP BLK in Panorama Village and six hectares of supporting land in the Air Sebakul area. (antaranews)

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar offers new opportunities for Indonesia to enhance economic relations with Qatar, as is apparent from the increasing number of ministerial visits to the Middle Eastern country.

According to Minister Counsellor of Economic Affairs Maulana Syahid of the Indonesian Embassy in Qatar there are various potential areas for cooperation to be forged between Indonesia and Qatar.

"How many Middle Eastern countries have set up their major companies in Indonesia? Qatar already has such experience, and they are willing to invest again in Indonesia," Syahid stated in Doha, Qatar, Thursday .

Earlier, this month, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno visited Qatar to meet business representatives and investors in Doha.

Meanwhile, Investment Minister and Investment Coordination Board (BKPM) Head Bahlil Lahadalia and Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi were expected to conduct a working visit to Qatar soon for the same purpose.

The embassy official underscored Qatar as one of the Middle Eastern countries, with the strongest commitment to investment in Indonesia.

Telecommunication company Ooredoo, Qatar National Bank, and Nebras Power that hold a share in private electric company PT Paiton Energy Company in East Java are some major Qatari companies that have invested and commenced operations in Indonesia, he pointed out.

Moreover, Qatari agriculture company Baladna has collaborated with state company PT Berdikari in developing the farming industry and establishing a dairy farm in Indonesia, he noted.

Syahid stated that Middle Eastern investors are more often engaged in brownfield investment -- through the acquirement of existing facilities -- than greenfield investment.

"That is the typical character of Middle Eastern (investors) that are less keen on the greenfield model, as they are more inclined to the brownfield investment. While having the cash, they usually use the easier model, which is to acquire or collaborate with established companies in Indonesia," he remarked. (Antaranews)

Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto made a working visit to France to meet with the Minister of the French Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu at Hôtel de Brienne, Paris, on Thursday.

"We discussed the objectives of the two countries in the field of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Hopefully, the friendship between Indonesia and France will become even stronger," Prabowo said in a statement issued here on Friday.

Prabowo was in France to reciprocate the visit of Lecornu to Jakarta on November 25 this year.

During the meeting in Paris, the two ministers discussed efforts to strengthen the strategic relationships that have been established by the two nations, particularly in the field of defense in relation to defense education and industry.

On his Twitter account @Seblecornu, Lecornu said that now it was his turn to welcome Prabowo to Paris.

"Three weeks after our last meeting in Jakarta, I am happy with my turn as the host of Minister @Prabowo during his visit to France. We have consolidated our shared visions and ambitions in the field of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific," he added. (Antaranews)

Globally, people are experiencing inflation at levels not seen for decades as prices surge for essentials like food, heating, transport and accommodation. And though a peak could be in sight, the effects may yet get worse.

How did we get here? In two words: pandemic and war.

A long and comfortable period of scant inflation and low interest rates ended abruptly after COVID-19 struck, as governments and central banks kept locked-down businesses and households afloat with trillions of dollars of support.

That lifeline kept workers from joining dole queues, businesses from going broke and house prices from crashing. But it also knocked supply and demand out of kilter as never before.

By 2021, as lockdowns ended and the global economy grew at its fastest post-recession pace in 80 years, all that stimulus money overwhelmed the world's trading system.

Factories that had been idled could not ratchet up fast enough to meet demand, COVID-safe rules caused labour shortages in retail, transport and healthcare, and the recovery boom caused a spike in energy prices.

If that wasn't enough, Russia invaded Ukraine in February and Western sanctions on the major oil and gas exporter sent fuel prices yet higher.

WHY IT MATTERS

Known as a "tax on the poor" because it hits those on low incomes the hardest, double-digit inflation has exacerbated inequalities worldwide. While wealthier consumers can rely on savings built up during pandemic lockdowns, others struggle to make ends meet and a growing number rely on food banks.

With winter setting in across the northern hemisphere, that squeeze on living costs will tighten as fuel bills soar. Workers have taken strike action in sectors from healthcare to aviation to demand that wages keep pace with inflation. In most cases, they are having to settle for less.

Cost of living concerns dominate the politics of rich nations – in some cases relegating other priorities, such as climate change action.

While recent falls in gasoline prices have eased some of the pressure, inflation remains a top focus for U.S. President Joe Biden's administration. France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Olaf Scholz are stretching their budgets to channel billions of euros into support programmes.

But if things are tough in industrialised economies, rocketing food prices are worsening poverty and suffering in poorer countries, from Haiti to Sudan and Lebanon to Sri Lanka.

The World Food Programme estimates an extra 70 million people worldwide have been driven closer to starvation since the start of the Ukraine war in what it calls a "tsunami of hunger".

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR 2023?

The world's central banks have embarked on steep interest rate hikes to cool demand and tame inflation. By the end of 2023, the International Monetary Fund expects global inflation to have fallen to 4.7% - just less than half its current level.

The aim is for a "soft landing" in which the cooling-off happens without housing market crashes, business bankruptcies or surging joblessness. But such a best-case scenario has proven elusive in past encounters with high inflation.

From U.S. Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell to the European Central Bank's Christine Lagarde, there is growing talk that rate-hike medicine may taste bitter. On top of that, risks surrounding the big uncertainties – the Ukraine war, tensions between China and the West – are skewed to the downside.

The IMF's regular October outlook was one of the bleakest for years, stating: "In short, the worst is yet to come and for many people, 2023 will feel like a recession."

Explore the Reuters round-up of news stories that dominated the year, and the outlook for 2023. (Reuters)