Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and First Lady Iriana Jokowi left Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta for Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara Province on Sunday to observe the latest development of tourism infrastructure facilities there.

The president and his entourage boarded the presidential airplane at 09.00 a.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB), and arrived at the Komodo Airport in Manggarai Barat District, East Nusa Tenggara, at around 11.50 a.m. Eastern Indonesia Time (WIT).

Among the top government officials who join the president's working visit until Tuesday (Jan 21) were Head of the Presidential Secretariat Heru Budi Hartono, Commander of the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) Major General Maruli Simanjuntak.

The President's Military Secretary Major General Suharyanto and the President's Special Staff Adamas Belva Syah Devara also joined this President Jokowi's visit.

During his visit, President Jokowi would observe the construction project of Labuan Bajo Pier's multipurpose terminal, and come to Puncak Waringin, a new tourist destination in Labuan Bajo, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Heru Budi Hartono said.

President Jokowi has also been scheduled to inaugurate a hotel, owned by a state-owned enterprise, he said, adding that the president would observe the infrastructure facilities constructed for boosting the district's tourism industry, he said.

"Labuan Bajo has been selected to be one of five highly prioritized destinations this year," he said.

In July 2019, President Jokowi had also visited the infrastructure facilities in Labuan Bajo, a tourist resort area that CNN International had placed in the world's second best spots for snorkeling in 2015.

At that time, President Jokowi visited Puncak Waringin, a new tourist destination in Labuan Bajo which covers a hilly area of one hectare and will be equipped with a souvenir center, an amphitheater, an open green area, and an observation deck.

Jokowi said the government would accelerate the development of infrastructure including an airport in the region to boost local tourism.

The president wanted the airports in the regions where tourist destinations existed to be managed by those having an international tourism network.

Labuan Bajo needs to be totally revamped with packages presenting attractive local art and cultural events to attract domestic and foreign tourists.

East Nusa Tenggara's tourism and creative economic office itself has identified 1,181 tourist attractions located in 22 districts and municipalities in the province. (ANTARA)

FIFA U-20 World Cup festivity is getting closer. The Indonesian government has continuously made preparations so it can organize the event optimally. President Joko Widodo at the Limited Cabinet Meeting on Friday (01/17/2020) afternoon at the Presidential Office in Jakarta explained he wants to ensure the stadium's readiness.  He wants the stadium to be prepared to host world class matches.  The government has prepared 10 stadiums for the 2021 U-20 World Cup.

"There are six main stadiums and 4 reserved stadiums.  I asked if those can really be checked directly in the field and they are truly equipped to be used for world class matches, starting from the environment, field, seats, dressing rooms, toilets, and even the press media room which is truly representative and if there is a shortage and those are needed to be renovated and   improved so that they are really prepared to be used in 2021.  I also wanted to see in detail the connection between the stadium and the transportation to the accommodation for FIFA U-20 world cup participants. For example, ensuring the match won’t be late because of connectivity problems. Therefore, the accommodation facilities and infrastructure must also have world class services," said President Joko Widodo.

Moreover, President Joko Widodo also wants the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2021 to become a promotional event for Indonesia. He also stated that Indonesia must be able to show the world that it is a strongly developing country that is able to hold international events. (VOI/Ndy/AHM)/TRANS:AF)
 

Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has revealed that Vice Admiral Aan Kurnia will be the next chief of the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency  (Bakamla).

"Mr Aan," President Joko Widodo said in response to the press' questions about the new Bakamla chief, at the Merdeka Palace, here Friday. Kurnia previously served as Commander General of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Academy. He is an alumnus of the Navy Academy (AAL) of XXXI Class in 1987.

Kurnia will succeed the current chief, A Taufiqoerrochman.

On Thursday, January 16, Jokowi led a Final Assessment Team (TPA) meeting to discuss the appointments of chiefs of several strategic positions including Bakamla.

Since September 2018, Bakamla has been led by Taufiqoerrochman, who is turning 60 this year, and will enter his retirement period. (ANTARA)

Jakarta - Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati believes the initial trade agreement between the United States and China will lend a sense of certainty to the global economy after the trade war that protracted several months.

"We will see if this agreement could last. This is a good initial step," Indrawati remarked after attending the 2020 Annual Meeting of the Financial Services Industry in Jakarta on Thursday.

The agreement between the two major economies of the world is expected to end the uncertainty rife until now.

She is upbeat about the initial trade agreement being sustainable, so that the global economy shows signs of improvement.

On Wednesday (Jan 15), the United States and China signed an initial trade agreement that will reduce some tariffs and boost Chinese purchases of US products.

The inking is also expected to ease an 18-month dispute between two of the world's biggest economies.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He inked a deal on Wednesday at the White House that cut some US tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Chinese pledges to purchase more of the US farm, energy, and manufactured goods and address some US complaints concerning intellectual property practices, Reuters reported. China has agreed to step up purchases of US products and services by at least $200 billion over the next two years. China bought $130 billion in US goods in 2017 before the trade war began and $56 billion in services, according to the US data.

The United States will cut by half the tariff rate it had imposed on Sept 1 on a $120 billion list of Chinese goods, to 7.5 percent.

The US tariffs of 25 percent on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, put in place earlier, will remain immediately unaltered. These could be rolled back as part of a Phase 2 trade negotiation, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated on Wednesday. (ANTARA)