VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

France presented a medal of merit to Indonesian Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning and National Land Agency Head Hadi Tjahjanto in recognition of his services in promoting sound relations between both nations.

Vice Chief of the French Air and Space Force Lt. General Frédéric Parisot conferred the Commander of the National Order of Merit on Tjahjanto at the latter's official residence in Jakarta on Sunday.

In a written statement released on Monday, Tjahjanto said the medal of merit is the highest award bestowed by the French government on him to recognize his services in promoting good relations between the two nations while he was a soldier.

Tjahjanto was formerly chief of the National Defense Forces (TNI) before President Joko Widodo inaugurated him as Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency to replace Sofyan Djalil on June 15, 2022.

Tjahjanto noted that the French government had originally planned to invite him to receive the award. However, the plan could be realized only on Sunday when Vice Chief of the French Air and Space Force Lt. General Frédéric Parisot visited Jakarta.

"The good relations are related to the joint exercises and education between (the two countries') forces that I developed when I was TNI chief for four years," he affirmed.

Tjahjanto and Lt. General Parisot once studied together at the College Interarmees de Defence in 2001. (antaranews)

Indonesia and Norway agreed to establish cooperation in climate change and forestry by supporting the implementation of clean emission absorption in the Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) sector in 2030.

The Government of Norway lauded Indonesia's consistent efforts to reduce deforestation as part of the endeavors to achieve the global climate target and biodiversity conservation, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya noted in a press conference here Monday.

Hence, Norway Climate and the Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Partnerships in Supporting Indonesia's Efforts in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the FOLU sector.

The MoU was signed during Eide's visit to Indonesia on September 10-13, 2022.

"This MoU represents more than a partnership," Nurbaya remarked after the MoU inking.

"This is not just an agreement on contribution based on results. This encompasses broader involvement related to the issue of climate and forestry in Indonesia," she remarked.

The cooperation covers emission reduction from deforestation and forest degradation, capacity development to bolster natural forest carbon sequestration through sustainable forest management, forest rehabilitation, and social forestry, including mangrove.

The cooperation also entails biodiversity conservation, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from peatland fire and destruction, strengthening law enforcement, knowledge communication and exchange, and technical and expertise information.

During the press conference, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi noted that Norway is one of Indonesia's important partners.

She highlighted the earlier collaboration between Indonesia and Norway through REDD+ that ended in 2021 that serves as an experience to develop constructive collaboration.

The inking of the MoU to support the implementation of Indonesia's FoLU Net Sink is a new start for the cooperation between the two countries, she remarked. (antaranews)

The Lake Sentarum Festival, which will be held in Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan, from November 22 to 26, 2022, has been promoted in 16 countries and international universities to draw culture and nature enthusiasts.

The festival has been promoted in the countries by the tourism marketing deputy, head of tourism at the Kapuas Hulu Youth, Sports, and Tourism Office, Hulu Ismunadi, told ANTARA here on Monday.

The 16 countries comprise Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Russia, the United States, Croatia, and Brunei Darussalam.

Ismunadi said he expects the promotion to draw international tourists to the Lake Sentarum Festival, an annual event in Kapuas Hulu, which aims to promote its tourism potential and culture.

This year’s festival will showcase Kapuas Hulu's local culture through a cultural carnival, honey kratom drink parade, Kapuas Hulu bidar boat race, and tourism ambassador competition, he informed.

A regional dance creation competition, lake honey harvest, spinning top traditional competition, chopstick competition, cycling in the heart of Borneo, and a motocross race will also be organized.

The festival will also feature people's entertainment, Lake Sentarum exploration, a sape music ethnic concert, performances by capital city and regional artists, as well as a showcase of tribal rituals on Melayu Island.

"In addition to Lake Sentarum's natural (scenic) view, the local culture has its own appeal in the eyes of tourists, thus we need to continue to preserve it," Ismunadi remarked.

He said he expects support from all parties, including residents living near the lake, to make the festival a success.

"We expect many tourists to come to drive people's economic growth, which necessitates support and synergy from all parties," he remarked.

Lake Sentarum is located in a national park area bordering Malaysia in Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan.  (Antaranews)

The Indonesian government has prepared a five-point agenda for the 2022 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meetings, which are scheduled to begin on Tuesday (September 13).

The first point covers Indonesia's G20 presidency and preparations for the G20 Summit in Bali in November this year, Director General of Multilateral Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tri Tharyat informed at a media briefing here on Monday.

The Foreign Minister is also planning to hold bilateral meetings with all G20 partners on the sidelines of the UNGA.

"(The minister will be meeting) also with the ASEAN Foreign Ministers regarding the plan for Indonesia's chairmanship of the ASEAN in 2023," he said.

The second point is related to strengthening multilateralism.

“Secondly, we have always consistently emphasized multilateralism. Why? Because as I have mentioned earlier, the current trend is a unilateral approach with a 'take it or leave it' approach and there is no spirit of inclusiveness in the multilateral process,” he explained.

The third point is to again push the important role of the United Nations in handling global challenges, such as pandemics, economic recovery, and climate change.

The fourth point concerns the need for strengthening the global health architecture, which is in accordance with the priorities of the Indonesian G20 presidency.

"And the last one is, of course, efforts to resolve disputes peacefully," he said.

The 77th Session of the General Assembly will open on Tuesday under the theme, “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges.”

The theme stems from the recognition that the world is at a critical moment in the history of the United Nations—and so too are the sustainable development goals (SDGs) due to complex and interconnected crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, humanitarian challenges of unprecedented nature, a tipping point in climate change, as well as growing concerns over threats to the global economy.  (Antaranews)