VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss launched a revamped British development finance institution in London yesterday (25 November) that will invest billions in infrastructure and technology in low and middle income countries across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.

The body, British International Investment (BII), will be a key part of the government’s wider plans to mobilise up to £8 billion a year of public and private sector investment in international projects by 2025. This will include BII partnering with capital markets and sovereign wealth funds to scale up financing and help the private sector move in.

Foreign Secretary Truss discussed green infrastructure investment with both President Joko Widodo and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi during her recent visit to Indonesia, following talks between President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the same subject.

The Foreign Secretary has agreed that BII will prioritise sustainable infrastructure investment to provide clean, honest and reliable financing and avoid low and middle income countries being left with bad and unsustainable debt. It builds on the Prime Minister’s commitments at COP26 to help developing countries take advantage of clean technology and grow their economies sustainably, with the BII delivering billions in climate financing for projects like solar power, sustainable transport and disaster-resilient infrastructure over the next 5 years.

"Too many countries are loading their balance sheets with unsustainable debt. Reliable and honest sources of finance are needed. Britain and our allies will provide that, with British International Investment a key delivery vehicle. This is a win-win for all. It benefits Britain by creating jobs and opportunities for our people. And it helps grow economies across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean while drawing them closer towards free-market democracies and building a network of liberty across the world,” Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary, Liz Truss, said in a release on Wednesday.

It is part of the UK’s network of liberty strategy that aims to deepen economic, security and development ties globally and bring more countries into the orbit of free-market economies while delivering jobs and growth in both the UK and developing world.

“This announcement is great news, coming so soon after our Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary met with President Joko Widodo and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, and discussed how to work together to drive more investment into Indonesia, to enable it to build back better from the pandemic," British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Owen Jenkins said. (VOI)

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary, Liz Truss, said

British Ambassador Owen Jenkins will visit Surabaya on his second official visit on 1-2 December 2021 to meet with East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi and other stakeholders.

The visit will emphasize and continue to develop dynamic cooperation between the UK and the government of East Java in the fields of economy, trade and investment, disaster mitigation preparedness, social and environmental partnerships, and football development.

Together with Governor Khofifah, the British Ambassador will witness the signing of agreements including the creation of a technoscience park by the Sepuluh November Institute of Technology (ITS) Surabaya and Liverpool John Moores University; and British company Shire Oak with Jatim Graha Utama for solar panel installation.

The British Ambassador will also meet with students from the Blind Children's Education Foundation – YPAB to watch an earthquake evacuation simulation. This is a project funded by the UK government through the Global Future Cities Programme. This project aims to share cutting-edge technology, so that people with disabilities can save themselves during an earthquake, including tools to help people with disabilities who have visual impairments.

The British Ambassador's visit to YPAB coincides with the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities which is commemorated on 3 December – and shows how the UK is supporting inclusivity around the world by encouraging people to go further and faster to ensure that disability is not a barrier to living an independent and full life, in where everyone can reach their full potential.

British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Owen Jenkins said he was happy to visit Surabaya again.

“This is my second official visit to a city and province with so many opportunities for collaboration with the UK, and great potential for even more growth. The UK is doing a great job of building our relationship with Surabaya in many areas: from economics, trade, and investment, to education, to football.

In addition, Owen said, he also wanted to see for himself how the UK's Global Future Cities program is delivering results in increasing earthquake resilience and supporting the urban creative economy.

“This program is very important especially for women and marginalized groups and communities including people with disabilities. Through his work, more and more people can actively participate in realizing the vision of Surabaya to become a futuristic city. I look forward to discussing the development of Surabaya with our partners in East Java, and looking for ways to continue to support their efforts,” concluded Owen. (VOI)

Indonesia has an important role in climate action as the country has set a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said.

“In addition, Indonesia has a conditional target to phase out coal use by 2040," she noted at a conference entitled ‘The Indonesia International Conference for Sustainable Finance and Economy’ on Tuesday, according to a statement released by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Hence, the government is committed to not adding new coal-fired power plants so as to achieve a carbon net sink by 2030, she said.

"It is very important since the power plants account for 60 percent of Indonesia's emissions," the minister added.

She also informed that recently, the government has stipulated the implementation of a carbon tax through the Law on Harmonization of Tax Regulations (UU HPP).

This shows that the Indonesian government is committed to realizing environmentally friendly and sustainable development, in accordance with the sustainable development goals (SDGs), Indrawati said.

The policy is expected to encourage and improve the implementation of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) programs in the domestic business and economy sectors, she added.

The policy also aims to achieve the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) target by 2030 through a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 29 percent independently and 41 percent with international support, she said.

In addition to discussing sustainability and economic issues as well as collaborative efforts among countries and industry players to address future challenges, the conference also preceded Indonesia’s G20 Presidency, which would be held in 2022.

Indrawati noted that this will be Indonesia’s first G20 Presidency. Italy handed over the G20 Presidency to Indonesia during the Rome Summit on October 30–31, 2021.

“Indonesia has determined the themed for its G20 Presidency as ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’, reflecting Indonesia's hope and readiness to participate in global partnerships to overcome the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and increase global trust towards Indonesia,” she added.  (Antaranews)

The government's decision to temporarily limit the entry of foreign nationals into Indonesia is appropriate to prevent the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant, Deputy Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Syarief Hasan has said.

"The global positive and mortality cases still increase in addition to the spread of COVID-19 new variant B.1.1.529," Hasan noted in a written statement issued here on Monday.

The government had to take an assertive decision regarding foreign nationals' entry into the country, considering that some countries have reported several cases of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, he said. Therefore, the government must show sensitivity to the people's condition, he added.

"This can improve the people's perspective on the government's sensitivity to the small community that is being impacted economically," he said.

The policy that has been issued must really be reinforced, he said. There should not be any policy loosening, like what happened months ago with the entry ban on foreign nationals, he added.

According to many analyses, there was potential for the new variant of COVID-19 entering Indonesia from abroad, he noted. Therefore, when the government admitted that the Delta and Mu variants started overseas, the entry of foreign nationals should have been banned, Hasan said.

The entry of foreign nationals into a country is a normal thing, he added. However, it should be prohibited in the transition period to prevent the emergence of new variants, he said.

"It should be affirmed that we are currently in the transition period after passing through the second wave of COVID-19," Hasan added.

The government should evaluate policies that have been taken by other countries that have successfully exited the pandemic, he said. They could achieve this because there were strict limitations on the mobility of foreign nationals and the community, he noted. (Antaranews)