VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Swiss Federal Council has issued official documents related to the agreement comprehensive economic partnership between Indonesia and EFTA countries (IE-CEPA) and submitted to the Swiss Parliament on Wednesday (5/22) local time, for approval. 

The Indonesian Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita said that this step was taken by Switzerland is the result of follow-up bilateral meetings with the Minister of Economy, Education and Swiss research Guy Parmelin on May 9, 2019 then in Bern, Switzerland.

"This is good news from Switzerland and shows the seriousness of the completion of the process ratification of the IE-CEPA, while signifying that the EFTA countries (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) became the first group of European countries to have an agreement "free trade with Indonesia," said Minister of Trade Enggar. Indonesia and EFTA countries signed IE-CEPA on December 16, 2018 in Jakarta.

The Minister of Trade explained, this agreement would increase market access and legal certainty in the field of trade in goods and services for Indonesia and EFTA. In addition, the agreement also includes various provisions regarding investment, protection of intellectual property, elimination of non-tariff barriers, including sanitation and phytosanitary provisions, competition, facilitation sustainable trade, trade and development, and economic cooperation.

In 2018 Indonesia is included in the 40 main trading partners with Switzerland. "As is This IE-CEPA, in the future, Indonesia and Switzerland are expected to increase trade bilateral mutually beneficial. We also hope that Switzerland can increase its investment in Indonesia, "said the Trade Minister.

In addition, the Trade Minister continued, the government was committed to socializing the benefits of IE-CEPA to the public, including business people and associations in various sectors to be able to use it this agreement is for broad economic interests. (kemendag)

In the past five years, the government has been trying to build infrastructure evenly throughout the country. The development is primarily intended so that more regions or regions in Indonesia will become connected with each other. To that end, the President asked the entrepreneurs to be able to take advantage of the development by presenting new economic centers that made the economy more mobile.

"This is the job of the businessman to continue what the government has done by building economic centers, economic centers, which are very important for our economic growth," said President Jokowi at the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) and breaking fast together. orphans held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Jakarta, Sunday (5/26) night.

The President explained, during his tour of Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke, almost all of the regions had the same problem, namely connectivity. Therefore, a number of construction of public facilities such as roads, toll roads, airports and ports are carried out on a large scale.

"This is our big job so that in our five years our concentration has been on building infrastructure. That is so that intercity, inter-district, and inter-province connectivity can really be connected, "said the President.

At the same time, the government also sought gradual bureaucratic reform with the main goal of making the licensing process easier. According to the President, simplification of institutions is absolutely necessary in order to work more efficiently and quickly so as to minimize the overlapping of authority.

"In the past five years we have disbanded 23 institutions that we have seen that are not relevant to the time and age. In the future, I think there will be many more institutions that we really don't need, which we will erase and eliminate, "said the President.

After the initial stages of national development through equal distribution of infrastructure, the government is now starting to target the human resources sector. The Head of State realizes that the development of this HR cannot be seen quickly. However, this must still be done so that Indonesia is able to jump into a developed country.

"This is a condition for the foundation of our economic fundamentals. If we don't do this, we will go into the middle income trap. Many countries are trapped there and cannot leave so that they cannot jump into developed countries, "said the President.

Therefore, the President hopes that HIPMI members and other associations can work together with the government to improve the quality of Indonesian human resources while absorbing them into the industrial world. Related to this, the government has prepared training and massive scholarships to increase national HR capabilities.

"Link and match between the industrial world and education is very much needed. I hope that later from Hipmi there will be cooperation with the existing ministries, with regions, provinces, districts and cities in the framework of human resource development so that the next five years upgrading of our human resources is truly visible, "he said.

Attending the occasion included Minister of State (Minister of State) Pratikno, Minister of Social Affairs (Social Minister) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, and General Chair of HIPMI Bahlil Lahadalia. (BPMI Setpres / ES)

Deputy Governor of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Josef Nae Soi echoed President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi's) promise to build 13 additional dams in NTT to take the total to 20 in the area.

"During his recent visit to NTT, I had the opportunity to converse with the president over increasing the number of dams in the area, and he had made assurance that in the next five years, more dams would be built to reach the total figure of 20," he remarked in Kupang on Friday.

The deputy governor made the statement while delivering a speech at the coordination meeting to discuss steps to accelerate the provision of clean water in the province.

Soi remarked that East Nusa Tenggara was in dire need of water. He pointed out that in other areas, NTT was already identified as a drought-affected area.

Soi noted that from his past experiences, whenever outsiders had expressed interest to work in East Nusa Tenggara, the question that constantly arose was the availability of water and electricity.

"I raise this question that mandates serious attention at this coordination meeting. Firstly, we save the idealistic dimension. We thereafter save discussions that are theories. Now, we must start to give focused attention on what I call the reality dimension, contextual. That is, several people are in desperate need of water, " he emphasized.

The former expert staff of the minister of law and human rights spoke while drawing reference to management science wherein he admitted to being more interested in employing the term collaboration instead of coordination. This is since it emphasizes mutually symbiotic relationships.

He opined that any sectoral ego in coordination is something arbitrary, whereas collaboration entailed a form of give and take.

"This is since the term that has gained greater popularity according to nomenclature is coordination, so it may be used. However, one needs to bear in mind that the term may be coordination, but the connotation is collaboration," he reiterated.

Moreover, the ex-member of the House of Representatives' Commission V revealed that meeting the water demand must not necessitate the use of structures and not debate authority. If regulations are posing a hindrance to meeting the obligation to provide water to the community, they can be discussed to be amended swiftly.

"The point is that the people must be able to access water. How do we provide water to the people? Only then, from here, look for water sources and ways to conserve water. How do we maintain the water resources. Let us work on this together," he stated.

During a visit to Belu District to officiate the Rotiklot Dam, President Jokowi affirmed that water is the key to realizing prosperity in NTT.

"I convey that NTT's prosperity cannot be achieved without water; forget it. The key is water," he stated.

President Jokowi pointed out that if only one dam was built in other provinces, seven were constructed in NTT while work on the Raknamo Dam in Kupang District and Rotiklot Dam had been completed. (ANTARA)

"Protection of civilians must continue to be the main focus of the work of the UN Security Council," said the Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi, at the UN Security Council Open Session on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA (23/05).

The meeting, which was chaired by the Indonesian Foreign Minister as the President of the UN Security Council in May 2019, was attended by more than 80 UN member states and international organizations. Some countries are represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and officials at the Ministerial level. The UN Secretary General also attended and delivered the Annual Report related to the implementation of the agenda of Civil Citizens Protection in Armed Conflict. The President of the International Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, and Executive Director of the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), Federico Borello, were present as presenters.

The report of the UN Secretary General describes various achievements and challenges to the protection of civilians in the last 20 years. In this regard, the Indonesian Foreign Minister again reminded that the UN Security Council has a mandate and collective responsibility to protect civilians and the safety and security of civilians must always be put forward.

Indonesia also reaffirmed its support to strengthen international partnerships related to the promotion of human rights protection, especially for civilians in armed conflict. Indonesia's contribution so far has been reflected through Indonesia's active role in supporting issues of protecting civilians in various international forums and providing technical assistance to various countries in the field of infrastructure and good governance. Exemplified Indonesia's proactive efforts in empowering Palestinian communities with the establishment of hospitals for residents in Gaza, Palestine.

The Indonesian Foreign Minister stressed that community empowerment is a key element in increasing the country's capacity to protect civilians. The involvement of local communities, including women's groups, in designing and implementing a civil protection program will be more effective in achieving goals.

Protection of civilians is a multidimensional issue. Therefore, the Indonesian Foreign Minister encouraged 3 (three) things to be done in addressing these various challenges. First, the importance of strengthening the national capacity of the countries involved, including through community empowerment. Second, ensuring implementation and compliance with various applicable legal frameworks. Third, the development of innovative and practical efforts to protect civilians.

This Open Session is a series of main activities of the United Nations Security Council's Presidency in May 2019, which carries the theme "Sowing the Seeds of Peace". The meeting also marked the 20th anniversary of the discussion on the agenda of protecting civilians on the UN Security Council and the 70-year Geneva Convention on international humanitarian law. (source: Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)