VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 5 - The government is planning to establish a bullion bank to manage the precious metal, considering Indonesia has one of the largest gold mines in the world, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, said.

"We have a big mine and the government is studying the plan to establish a bullion bank," Hartarto said during a working meeting of the Trade Ministry here on Thursday.

Indonesia’s gold imports remain high amid an increase in the price of the commodity, despite the presence of the gold mine, he pointed out.

"This indicates there is something we need to evaluate regarding gold exports and imports," Hartarto said.

With Indonesia's gold and granule exports increasing to US$5,280 million in 2020, the minister said he is optimistic that the development of a bullion bank would benefit the country.

Citing the benefits of a bullion bank, he said, it would save the state's foreign exchange, provide a funding resource for industry, product diversification for banks, and the public would get returns from gold savings.

The Grasberg mine in Papua is the second largest gold mine in the world after the South Deep Gold Mine in South Africa and has 30.2 million ounces of gold reserves, the minister noted.

Indonesia is the seventh largest gold producer in the world, with production in 2020 reaching 130 tons, or 4.59 million ounces a year.

Indonesia's PT ANTAM, a junior gold mining company, produced 1.7 tons of gold in 2020.

Gold consumption in Indonesia remains relatively low, with about 172,800 ounces used in retail investment and 137,600 ounces used in making jewelry.

Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi has assured the ministry will continue to mull on establishing a bullion bank by taking into account various aspects, including its effectiveness in controlling the gold market. (Antaranews)

Mar. 5 - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin confirmed he will collaborate with the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and National Police (Polri) to fast-track the implementation of COVID-19 vaccination.

"Currently, we have started (collaborating) with the private sector and this week with institutions and ministries. We are also collaborating with the TNI-Polri," he remarked while speaking during a productive dialog themed "Digitalization of Vaccination Acceleration" on Thursday.

The TNI and Polri have several healthcare workers that can be empowered to administer vaccine injections. However, the current requirement is locations for the vaccination.

"We invite all TNI (members) to function as vaccinators, as what is required now is people that can inject vaccines," he pointed out.

The Ministry of Health had earlier collaborated with the Halodoc and Gojek start-ups for the implementation of vaccinations, particularly to offer the COVID-19 Vaccination Service Post through a drive-through mechanism.

The government is currently continuing to accelerate vaccination by synergizing with various parties.

Vaccination campaigns have been conducted at various locations, including schools and sports buildings, by offering a drive-through mechanism especially to facilitate elderly people and to also prevent crowds.

Sadikin pointed to the limited number of vaccines posing the main challenge to the vaccination process. The issue has become a hot topic worldwide, and several countries have yet to commence vaccination.

"Our target is that vaccinations are completed in one year. In the first six months, only 90 million doses of vaccine were available for 45 million Indonesians," he remarked.

In the following six months, some 140 million people must be vaccinated. "This necessitates synergy with various parties since the Ministry of Health cannot do it alone," he stated. (Antaranews)

Mar. 5 - The Ministry of Trade can speed up the completion of negotiations on several international agreements between Indonesia and partner nations, according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

"The settlement of negotiations with potential countries should be accelerated. This is a priority agenda," President Jokowi noted at the State Palace in Jakarta, Thursday.

Jokowi made the statement at the opening of the 2021 Ministry of Trade National Working Meeting.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, and other relevant officials were other attendees at the meeting.

"We need a new export market. We have completed the IA CEPA (Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) with Australia, Korea, and the EU," President Jokowi stated.

The Indonesia-Australia CEPA was signed on March 4, 2019, and officially took effect on July 5, 2020, after the ratification process spanning 10 months.

Meanwhile, Indonesia and South Korea officially inked a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or Indonesia-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK-CEPA) in Seoul on December 18, 2020.

However, the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (I-EU CEPA) negotiations are still underway.

The 10th round of negotiations got delayed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, and both parties held virtual intercession talks on June 15-26, 2020. Furthermore, the 10th round is expected to be held in March 2021 and planned to be completed by the end of 2021.

"The minister should complete it soon," he remarked.

Jokowi also requested for the implementation of 23 signed bilateral and regional trade agreements.

"Business actors should take advantage of it. I will cite an example. For instance, we already have the IA CEPA with Australia. Look at the opportunities there. I think a big opportunity exists in the automotive sector," President Jokowi pointed out.

Indonesian entrepreneurs can penetrate the market in Australia, and of course, the opportunity will arise for the exports of other MSME products.

"MSMEs have the opportunity to receive assistance and encouragement in order to increase the export value and diversify products to our trading partner countries," Jokowi stated.

The president also called for emphasis to be laid on manufacturing industry sectors that absorb significant workforce.

"For instance, automotive, electronics, textiles, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals as well as food and beverages must be offered stimulus and export facilities. Incentives should be provided to expand markets, especially for non-traditional countries, by capitalizing on the trade cooperation," he explained.

There is also the need to optimize the performance of Indonesian trade representatives abroad.

"We have a trade attaché. We have an ITPC (Indonesian Trade Promotion Center). Everyone must move," President Jokowi affirmed.

Apart from Australia and South Korea, Indonesia has also signed a CEPA with Chile that entered into force on August 10, 2019.

The enactment of the IC-CEPA translates to the abolition of tariffs on 7,669 Indonesian products to Chile, with 78.3 percent of the products directly getting a zero-percent tariff.

Indonesian products, comprising agricultural, canned fishery, and manufactured items, enjoy a zero-percent tariff in the Chilean market. (Antaranews)

Mar. 4 - With 169,489 Indonesians receiving the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, the number of recipients has reached 2,104,967 so far, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force reported.

Based on the task force's data, received in Jakarta on Wednesday, of the 2,104,967 vaccine recipients, around 1,076,409 have received their second dose. A total of 29,121 people received their second shots on Wednesday.

The government is currently targeting to vaccinate 40,349,051 people against COVID-19.

The first phase of vaccination, which began on January 13, 2021, targeted health workers.

The second phase of vaccination, launched on February 17, 2021, is targeting 38 million people — 21 million elderly citizens and 16 million public servants, including state officials, government officials, religious leaders, market traders, teachers and lecturers, athletes, journalists, and those working in the tourism sector.

Earlier, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin had said that around 45 million Indonesians would get the COVID-19 vaccine by June 2021. To achieve the target, the government needs as many as 90 million vaccine doses.

Meanwhile, to achieve herd immunity, the Indonesian government is targeting to inoculate 70 percent of Indonesia's population or 181.5 million people.

Strengthening the immunity of individuals and groups is important to provide protection from infection and bring down the transmission rate of coronavirus, Sadikin said. (Antaranews)