VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat began voting on Thursday with his Hindu nationalist party expected to win a seventh straight term, but any unexpected slip could herald a tighter contest in national polls due by 2024.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not lost in the western industrial state since 1995 and Modi served as its chief minister for nearly 13 years before becoming prime minister in 2014 after trouncing the Congress party.

Opinion polls conducted in the lead-up to the Gujarat polls projected the BJP to comfortably retain power in the state.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which was formed only a decade ago and has claimed power in Delhi and the state of Punjab, is set to become one of the main opposition parties in Gujarat at the expense of Congress.

Early on Thursday, voters in Surat, the state's second largest city and a diamond cutting and polishing hub, lined up to cast their ballot in the first of the two-phase election.

The city is expected to witness a three-way contest with Congress and AAP also looking to make inroads in the BJP bastion. The second phase of voting is on Monday and results are due on Dec. 8.

In the last state election five years ago, the BJP won 99 seats in the 182-member assembly while Congress got 77.

The BJP is expected to win between 131 to 139 seats this time, ABP-CVoter projected in November. Congress could win 31 to 39 seats while the Aam Aadmi Party could bag up to 15.

According to India TV-Matrize opinion poll, also conducted in November, the BJP may win up to 119 seats.

Modi remains popular in many parts of the country despite criticism of inflation and unemployment, and his party also expects to emerge victorious in state assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh in the north, which were held last month with results to be declared on Dec. 8.

AAP has promised voters subsidies on electricity and other bills in their bid to become the main challenger to the BJP.

Congress, on the other hand, launched a cross-country march in September against what it calls "hate and division", hoping to revive its fortunes and regain some popularity. (reuters)

The United States is working a new round of sanctions against North Korea, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Thursday, as Pyongyang forges ahead with banned missile development and signals a possible new nuclear test.

"We have a new set of sanctions measures coming forward as we speak," he told a conference in Seoul organised by the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies and the South Korean JoongAng media group.

Sullivan, who spoke via live video link, did not elaborate but said Washington was committed to using pressure and diplomacy to entice North Korea into giving up its nuclear arsenal.

The "North Star" of U.S. Joe Biden's North Korea policy is the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, and it remains steadfast in pursuing that goal while being flexible in working with partners on how to achieve it, he said.

He pointed to increased cooperation between the United States, South Korea, and Japan, which have increased joint military drills. The United States is also working on a more "visible" regional presence of its strategic assets, Sullivan said, referring to major weapons such as aircraft carriers and long-range bombers.

North Korea has said denuclearisation is off the table, and accused the United States and its allies of pursing "hostile" policies, including sanctions, that have left it no choice but to expand its military.

Sullivan said Washington had no ill intent toward North Korea and is open to talks without preconditions.

"Pyongyang has rejected this sincere outreach," he said.

The last round of U.S. sanctions in October targeted two Singapore-registered companies and a Marshall Islands-registered firm that Washington said support Pyongyang's weapons programmes and its military.

Decades of U.S.-led sanctions have not halted North Korea's increasingly sophisticated missile and nuclear weapon programmes, and China and Russia have blocked recent efforts to impose more United Nations sanctions, saying they should instead be eased to jumpstart talks and avoid humanitarian harm.

Sullivan said the administration has no illusions about the challenges, but that the United States remained committed to holding North Korea accountable. (Reuters)

Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono echoed the interest of Malaysian investors to partake in development of the new capital Nusantara in East Kalimantan.

"Yesterday, I departed for Kuala Lumpur upon the invitation of Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) that organized a forum attended by 183 Malaysian investors," Hadimuljono stated on the sidelines of the CreatIFF event here, Thursday.

The minister had earlier attended the Nusantara Capital City Investment Forum organized by the Malaysian ministry and the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian investors expressed interest to invest in the developments of housing, hospital, education, start-up companies, energy, and other sectors in the new capital, the minister noted.

He underlined that the state budget burden on the new capital development would be alleviated when more parties are committed to investing in the new capital either through pure investment, government-private cooperation, or other investment schemes.

Apart from Malaysia, Hadimuljono highlighted that Japan, Spain, Finland, Brunei Darussalam, and South Korea were countries interested to invest in the new capital development.

The minister noted that South Korea had conducted a preliminary study for an immersed tunnel in Nusantara City, whose construction could be funded through a non-state budget source.

"There are a lot (of parties) interested to invest in the new capital, and surely, it will lessen the state budget (required for the development). I will invite them, as per the president's program, at next year's second or third quarter when the president will accompany investors to visit the new capital site," Hadimuljono revealed.

He noted that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), during his two market-sounding activities in August and October, had told investors that Nusantara Capital City is the future of Indonesia.

The president said that contributions from stakeholders, including the private sector, are essential for development of the new capital, and the government welcomes all investors to invest in the development, the minister added. (antaranews)

The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan emphasized that investment in Indonesia should not encounter obstacles. Even though inflation in developed countries will have an impact on increasing interest rates in Indonesia.

This will slow investment and domestic consumption. "There should be no obstacles to our investment," he said during the 2022 National Coordination Meeting of Investments, in Jakarta, Wednesday (30/11/2022).

According to him, world economic growth is expected to slow down significantly in 2023 due to the weakening global economy. This triggers a decline in the price of Indonesia's main commodity, so that export growth also slows down.

Thus, one of the options to encourage growth is to attract as much foreign investment (FDI) as possible through the downstream program. For this reason, according to him, investment realization must be focused on accelerating the issuance of permits.

The total investment path that must be executed reaches US$30.9 billion by 2026. "This must be utilized by accelerating the issuance of permits," he said.

Currently, he stressed, Indonesia is undergoing an economic transformation and no longer relies on raw commodities. For example, in the policy of downstreaming nickel into steel, and raw material for batteries.

This also contributed significantly to the increase in exports. The export value of steel was US$ 23.16 billion and raw materials for batteries amounted to US$ 1.72 billion.

Luhut recounted the moment at the G20 Summit yesterday, that Indonesia received a lot of appreciation and the Indonesian people should be proud. "I am betting on this already good momentum and this should not be hindered by anyone," he said. (RRI)