VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday denied a report that an Indonesian delegation led by "a senior official" visited Israel as part of efforts to normalize relations between the two countries.

As the custodian of Indonesia's foreign policy, the Finance Ministry has never taken steps pointing to the normalization of relations, as reported by the Israeli media, the ministry's spokesman, Teuku Faizasyah, said during an online press conference.

"The Indonesian position remains unchanged, that we prioritize a peaceful solution between Palestine and Israel based on the two-state solution to achieve peace with clear territorial borders," he said.

Indonesia's stand on the Palestine-Israel conflict remains unchanged, he said, adding that the "senior official" referred to by the Israeli media could not represent Indonesia's interests.

The Jerusalem Post reported earlier that Indonesia sent a secret delegation, led by a "senior official," to Israel amidst the recent tense relations between the two countries.

The newspaper said a series of meetings and reports in recent months in 2021 suggested that relations between Israel and Indonesia have grown closer, in terms of trade and tourism.

It also said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised the possibility of Indonesia and Israel normalizing diplomatic ties, during a meeting with officials in Jakarta in December last year. (Antaranews)

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry received a 2023 budget ceiling of Rp6.7 trillion, in accordance with the Joint Letter of the Finance Minister and the National Development Planning Minister, regarding the Ministry/Agency Budget Ceiling for the 2023 Fiscal Year.

The ministry had Key Performance Indicator targets comprising of fishery GDP growth of 4 to 6 percent, fishery production of 30.31 million tons, USD7.66 billion in exports of fishery products, fish consumption rates of 61.02 kilograms per capita per year, a 107 in the Fisherman's Exchange Rate Index, 29.1 million hectares of conservation area, and the compliance percentage of marine and fisheries business actors of 97 percent.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono elaborated on those goals during a Working Meeting with Commission IV of the House of Representatives here on Thursday.

Based on the work program, the draft budget ceiling would be primarily used for fisheries and marine management programs, followed by value added and industrial competitiveness programs, environmental quality programs, education programs, and vocational trainings.

"The use of this budget is also to add to the allocation of government assistance to pursue economic recovery, infrastructure to increase fishery production and aquaculture production, as well as the provision of a cold chain system in order to support food security," Minister Trenggono remarked.

Moreover, the budget was also used to add operational funding for monitoring marine and fishery resources, managing marine space, improving human resource capacity, developing quality test facilities, increasing satellite technology-based monitoring infrastructure, and strengthening internal control.

Trenggono further detailed several plans of the ministry's priority activities in 2023. These include the implementation of quota-based measurable fishing, and the development of the Advanced Fishermen Village (Kalaju), with the support of collaboration in fishermen's empowerment activities.

Afterwards, develop aquaculture to increase exports of shrimp, lobster, crab and seaweed, as well as develop aquaculture in Production Center Areas, including aquaculture villages.

Other priority activities include increasing domestic fish consumption, developing a cold chain system, developing business and investment, and promoting international products.

As for marine space management, priority activities included the management of conservation areas and small islands, rehabilitation of coastal areas and small islands, including the Love of the Sea Month initiative, the public’s salt management, and licensing of the suitability of the use of marine space.

Furthermore, priority activities included improvement of the quality assurance and quarantine system, developing reference and accreditation laboratories, and monitoring the traffic of fishery products in border areas. Minister Trenggono’s administration would also improve supervision, in line with the implementation of a measured fish catch policy.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the commission approved the ministry's budget ceiling of Rp. 6.7 trillion and encouraged them to increase the operational budget for supervisory vessels, including awarding outstanding supervisors. (antaranews)

Indonesian Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim explored collaboration opportunities with a number of the world's top universities in the United States, in a bid to improve the educational sector in Indonesia.

"Kemendikbudristek’s (Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry’s) attempts to explore opportunities for collaboration with the world's top (educational) institutions or universities prove our seriousness in transforming Indonesia’s higher education," he said in a statement here on Thursday.

Makarim’s visit had two aims, including to affirm Indonesia's leadership in transforming the education system by implementing various breakthroughs, such as the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (Freedom in Learning and Campus or MBKM) Program.

The second aim was to encourage cooperation, among others, in the higher education sector with a number of universities, as well as in the cultural sector with several research institutions and museums.

The minister had met a number of leaders of the world's top colleges, namely the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Northeastern University, Harvard University, and Georgetown University.

At MIT, the minister met with the President of MIT, Leo Rafael Reif, and his staff.

Reif has lauded the educational transformation which is taking place in Indonesia. He has also said that his staff is ready to collaborate with the Indonesian Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry to solve the most important educational issues in Indonesia.

“I learned a lot from one of the best engineering education institutions in the world, namely MIT, especially in their attempts to conduct research, transformation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Those attempts are also being implemented in Indonesia," Makarim noted.

Furthermore, he presented the implementation of the MBKM Program to officials at Northeastern University.

Executive Vice Provos of Northeastern University Thomas Sheahan praised the Indonesian government for encouraging students to join the program.

He noted that Northeastern University had implemented an entrepreneurial program which had the same spirit as the MBKM Program since 1890.

Hence, Sheahan has supported the vision of the Indonesian minister in carrying out the MBKM Program.

Meanwhile, at Harvard University, Makarim met with a number of professors from the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, as well as the Executive Director of the Harvard Center for International Development to exchange ideas.

The minister has noted that his party will send 150 informatics teachers to study asymmetric learning at Harvard University’s CS50 program.

“I really hope that in the future more teachers will graduate from this program and be able to share their knowledge with other teachers,” he stated.

In addition, Makarim concluded his visit at Harvard University by delivering a public lecture at the Harvard Business School.

Also, he held a meeting with Georgetown University to discuss potential cooperation on September 22, 2022. (Antaranews)

Hong Kong will scrap its controversial COVID-19 hotel quarantine policy for all arrivals from early October, more than 2-1/2 years after it was first adopted, news portal HK01 said on Thursday, citing unidentified sources.

The move is set to be announced next week, it added.

The city's leader, John Lee, said this week he wanted to keep the city connected with the rest of the world and allow an "orderly opening-up" but did not specify exactly when the quarantine policy would be changed.

Taking its cues from China which is pursuing a zero-COVID policy, Hong Kong is one of the few places in the world to still require travellers from abroad to quarantine upon arrival although the length of quarantine has eased over time.

Hong Kong residents and businesses have slammed the policy, saying it and other strict COVID rules threaten the city's competitiveness and standing as a global financial centre.

Currently, arrivals must pay for three days in a hotel and follow that with four days of self-monitoring. The new rules will abolish the need for arrivals from overseas to do quarantine at designated hotels. Residents will be able to go straight home and self monitor for seven days, HK01 said.

Currently people who are required to self monitor are allowed to move around the city although there are some limits on the types of places they can access.

Hong Kong still bans public groups of more than four people and masks are mandatory, even for children as young as two. (Reuters)