VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) continues to boost the prevention of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing through measures, such as increasing the ability of apparatuses to detect on-field violations.

Head of the Marine and Fisheries Research and Human Resources Agency (BRSDM) at KKP I Nyoman Radiarta noted in a release here on Thursday that his side was collaborating with the Directorate General of Marine and Fishery Resources Supervision (PSDKP) to organize the "Fisheries Supervision Technical Training" for 23 fishery inspectors in the province of Central Kalimantan (Kalteng) from June 27 to July 1, 2022.

"This commitment is the implementation of the KKP priority program, in terms of implementing measured fishing policies for sustainability and increasing non-tax state revenues that contribute to national economic growth," Radiarta remarked.

In addition, he noted that the task of supervision and law enforcement in the field of fisheries was regulated in Law (UU) No. 45 of 2009 that stipulated that the supervision of fish resources (SDI) is a task given to the KKP for the sustainability of fish resources management.

"IUU Fishing needs to be suppressed to encourage optimal use of fish resources and boost welfare of the main actors as well as increase national economic development through increasing state foreign exchange from the fisheries sector. In its implementation, a competent fisheries supervisor is needed to encourage the utilization of fish resources, especially in Central Kalimantan Province. Of course, this training will be conducted continuously in all regions in Indonesia," Radiarta stated.

Through this training, Radiarta said his side also expects fisheries supervisors to gain a broader understanding of monitoring the management of marine resources, fish processing businesses, distribution of fish products, aquaculture, fishing, operational compliance of fishing vessels, and marine and fishery crimes.

Secretary of the Directorate General of Marine and Fishery Resources Supervision (PSDKP) KKP Suharta cited the Job Creation Law while pressing for fisheries supervision to be integrated.

"I am grateful for the collaboration. The Job Creation Law mandates that supervision to ensure training of business actors is a risk-based licensing carried out by PSDKP. In this case, it is carried out in Central Kalimantan Province, as a form of integration between the center and the regions," he remarked.

Meanwhile, Head of the Marine and Fisheries Training and Extension Center (Puslatluh KP) KKP Lilly Aprilya Pregiwati remarked that this training was an effort to improve the competence of fisheries supervision in managerial, technical, and socio-cultural ways.

Based on Regulation of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Number 47 of 2020 on the Implementation of Fisheries Supervisory Duties, one of the requirements to become a fishery supervisor is to partake in fishery supervisor training. In this case, trainees must go through basic and technical training as evidenced by a training certificate.

"We continue to work together with related parties to improve managerial, technical, and socio-cultural competencies. Through the equalization policy, more and more functional positions are handled by regional civil servants," she explained. (Antaranews)

Indonesian Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita met with Japanese State Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) Ken'ichi Hosoda on Wednesday, concluding a series of visits to Japan to discuss industrial investment and cooperation.

The meeting was a follow-up to the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Indonesia in April 2022.

"This meeting aims to continue the discussions between Indonesia and Japan on trade, industry, infrastructure, marine and fisheries, energy, as well as environmental issues," the Indonesian minister said in Tokyo.

Indonesia's economic growth outlook is quite strong, as the World Bank has estimated that its economy will grow by around 5.1 percent and 5.3 percent in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that the Indonesian economy will grow by 5.4 percent in 2022 and 6 percent in 2023.

In fact, Indonesia’s economic growth in the first quarter of 2022 reached 5 percent, Kartasasmita noted.

"Furthermore, Indonesia's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) has been at an expansive level for nine consecutive months. It shows that Indonesia is one of the countries with the fastest economic acceleration in ASEAN," he said.

Hence, it is hoped that Indonesia's rapid economic recovery will support the development of Japanese industrial companies’ investment.

The Indonesian minister also lauded Japan's initiative regarding cooperation in the automotive industry as it supports Indonesia's policy to develop the electric vehicles ecosystem, which is in line with Japan’s decarbonization policy.

"We expect that the cooperation can increase investment in the automotive industry sector and strengthen Indonesia's position as an automotive production base in ASEAN for global exports purposes,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Japanese state minister lauded the Indonesian government for the cooperation and support, saying collaboration between Indonesia and Japan has benefited both parties so far, so it should be improved.

The meeting also discussed the continuation of negotiations on the Amendment Protocol to the Indonesian-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA).

Hosoda agreed to carry out further discussions at the working level, as proposed by Kartasasmita. (Antaranews)

Indonesia's COVID-19 tally rose by 2,149 on Wednesday, taking the total case count to 6,086,212, according to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force.

The provinces that recorded the most cases on Wednesday were Jakarta, with 1,134 cases, followed by West Java, with 416 cases; Banten, with 294 cases; East Java, with 113 cases, and Bali, with 56 cases, data received from the task force here on Wednesday showed.

Meanwhile, 1,282 patients recovered from the virus on Wednesday, taking the total number of recoveries to 5,913,307, the data showed.

The country also recorded three new COVID-19 deaths, which took the overall death toll to 156,731.

Meanwhile, the number of active cases or patients undergoing treatment or isolation stood at 16,174.

At least 4,937 people were listed in the suspected category on Wednesday based on tests conducted on 80,020 specimens in laboratories across the country.

The daily specimen positivity rate was recorded at 4.63 percent, while the daily person positivity rate was pegged at 3.93 percent.

Earlier, speaking at the Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT), Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, on Sunday, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin had urged people to get the vaccine without delay to strengthen immunity against COVID-19.

The Ministry of Health and the University of Indonesia are conducting the third serosurvey from June to July 2022 to measure the level of antibodies in vaccine recipients.

The survey is required to provide scientific, fact-based inputs to President Joko Widodo so he can decide on the government's policy direction.

The minister informed that the first serosurvey had shown that around 88 percent of Indonesians had developed antibodies against COVID-19, while the second serosurvey found that 99.2 percent of citizens had antibodies against the virus.

According to Sadikin, the serosurvey will be carried out regularly to monitor coronavirus transmission in the community. (Antaranews)

New Zealand supports Indonesia's leadership of the G20, which is themed “Recover Together; Recover Stronger,” New Zealand’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Kevin Burnett, said at a press conference at the New Zealand Embassy, Jakarta, on Wednesday.

"We see strong alignment between Indonesia's Presidency and New Zealand's work plan as APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) chair in 2021, and are committed to working together to secure inclusive and sustainable economic recovery," he added.

This year, Indonesia is holding the Presidency of the G20, a cooperation forum of 20 of the world's major economies, according to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"New Zealand strongly appreciates Indonesia's invitation to participate in the G20 Trade, Investment, and Industry work stream, including through the New Zealand Minister of Trade visiting Indonesia to attend the ministerial meeting later in 2022," Burnett said.

This will provide an opportunity to not only bolster the two countries' bilateral trade, but also positively impact global recovery efforts, he remarked.

New Zealand and Indonesia are close collaborators in the Indo-Pacific, Burnett said.

"As comprehensive partners, and fellow democracies we have an important role in promoting a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific, with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) at its center," he noted.

The two countries are committed to a region based on the rule of law, a region that is open for trade and investment, a region that is inclusive, a region where sovereignty is respected for all countries, and a region that seeks global peace and stability, he said.

Indonesia is holding the presidency for one year from December 1, 2021, to November 30, 2022. President Joko Widodo took over the G20 presidency from Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on October 31, 2021, during the G20 Summit in Rome, Italy. (Antaranews)