The Indonesian Embassy in Beirut has acknowledged its continued support for trade cooperation improvement between Indonesia and Lebanon. Indonesian Ambassador to Lebanon Hajriyanto Y Thohari gave the Primaduta Award to Lebanese businessman and importer, George R Fattouh. The award was given for his service in helping market Indonesian products in Paris from the Middle East. The award was given at a ceremony at the Indonesian Embassy in Beirut, Thursday (11/1) Fatough, is the owner of George R. Fattouh S.A.L, a business that has been importing Indonesian products since the 1980s. It has a range of products, including: palm oil and its derivatives, oil and fats (including cocoa butter substitute, fat spread, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, and lauric confectionery fats), cardboard, stationary, and school equipment. Some Indonesian products are now even available at famous retail networks, such as Spinney’s and Carrefour. In 2022, the value imported by George R. Fattough S.A.L of Indonesian products, was 981.3 million USD. This was a 149.5 million USD increase when compared to 2021. Fattouh said Indonesian products are known for their quality and are in high demand in Lebanese markets. However, he said, the challenge now is increasing freight costs due to security challenges in the region.
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Listeners, a number of delicious dishes were served to the guests of Dhaup Ageng Pura Pakualaman Yogyakarta, at the wedding reception of the youngest son of K.G.P.A.A. Paku Alam X, namely B.P.H. Kusumo Kuntonugroho with Laily Annisa Kusumastuti which was held on January 10, 2024.Head of the Customs and Accommodation Division, Dhaup Ageng Pura Pakualaman, KRT Radyo Wisroyo said that the menu served to guests was quite varied. These menus are typical menus prepared by Pakualaman Pura, Indonesian menus and western food menus were also available. All invited guests including VIP and VVIP guests got the same menu. The first menu served to welcome guests, namely two types of welcome drink, namely lime lemongrass and ginger drink with lime. The welcome drink was given when guests sat down and watched the Bedhaya Sidamukti and Bedhaya Kakung Indrawidagda dance performances. Next, they gotsnacks for appetizer such as croquettes and other light snacks. There is a snack that is considered quite special and rare called Garulina. Garulina was the opening snack at the Pahargyan Dhaup Ageng Pakualaman lunch on the first day. Garulina has been around since the era before Indonesian independence. Garulina is actually not a typical Central Javanese food. It looks like the Lapis Legit layered cake, but there is something different, because there is a special layer like vla which is made from fresh milk, eggs and sugar. To get this sweet snack, Pakulaman Temple has to place a special order from the third generation of makers who have been pioneering since the 1950s. In Jogja, Garulina is very difficult to find and is considered rare because it is not sold every day.
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Many people are lazy to manage the waste in their homes, starting from being lazy to sort out the garbage to not knowing where to throw away this garbage. Octopus, a startup created by the nation's children, is now present to provide convenience for the community in processing and recycling waste into more valuable goods.
Octopus is an application that supports a circular economy and can help manufacturers track and collect used products, whether they can be recycled or not. This application is created to help overcome the problem of waste used for consumption. Users can send used packaging for later recycling into products that have a selling value. Octopus also provides a pick-up service for post-consumption packaging via the application. It also provides data that will be useful for the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) industry and provide solutions for the packaging industry. Octopus dreams of being the most effective solution for the industry to overcome its recycling material supply problems.
Apart from contributing significantly to protecting the environment through waste management, Octopus also offers various benefits for its users. In addition to the convenience offered for users to manage waste, users will also benefit from every waste collected. Later, the benefit can be obtained in the form of points that can be exchanged at partners who work with Octopus, such as credit, electricity tokens, discounts, and dining vouchers at restaurants.
In its working system, Octopus has ‘pelestari’, which means 'sustainers'. Pelestari stands for "Pahlawan Biru Penjaga Alam tetap Lestari”, which means, "Blue Heroes Keep Nature Sustainable". They are the people who help track and collect waste from the person who reports it. Mostly, they are scavengers who are then given training on how to use the application and identify packaging waste according to the recycling industry standards. However, they are not limited to scavengers, there are even many students, motorcycle taxi riders, and former employees who have been laid off. These sustainers gain not only knowledge about processing waste, but also incentives from what they do. Now, Octopus has almost 200 thousand users spread across Jakarta, South Tangerang, Bandung, Bali and Makassar. This application also collaborates with more than 1,700 waste banks and 14,600 scavengers who have been trained to become conservationists.
Continuing the series of 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Germany, the Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) in Hamburg along with the Museum am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Kuenste der Welt (MARKK) had held the Indonesian Summer Weekend: Hanging out at MARKK on 1-3 July 2022. The first day’s activity was on Friday (1/7) by carrying out the screening of Indonesian films, namely ‘Surau and Silek’, which performed the traditions and life of the Minangkabau people, West Sumatra, Indonesia. The second day’s activity was on Saturday (2/7) by holding several events, namely folklore Indonesia, performances and workshops for the Merak and Belibis dances, as well as shadow puppet workshops. The second day's activity was an activity for families, so the children also took part in it.
Meanwhile, on the closing day on Sunday (3/7), it also performed again a mini Angklung concert by the Angklung Hamburg Orchestra and a gamelan concert by Gamelan Margi Budoyo. This performance is expected to show a bit of excitement from the previous angklung and gamelan concerts held at the Elbphilharmonie. During the three days of Summer Weekend at MARKK, Indonesian textile products were also displayed by using the eco-print coloring technique. The dyeing techniques and textile dyes used by these textile products are environmentally friendly so that they are expected to penetrate the European market, which currently also prioritizes the ecological side.
The Consul-General of Indonesia Hamburg, Ardian Wicaksono in his remarks on the last day of the activity, expressed his hope that visitors who attended were able to experience Indonesian culture, as well as promote Indonesian tourism which has been open to foreigners since the beginning of 2022. The Indonesian Summer Weekend Activities: Hang out at MARKK was warmly welcomed by the visitors who attended. The interactive activities carried out at the end of the show could attract the enthusiasm of visitors to get to know and appreciate Indonesian culture.
In the frame to improve bilateral relations among the two countries, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia and Croatia have held a Political Consultation Meeting at the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Europe Building (MVEP), in Zagreb, last July 4.
The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs delegation was led by the Director General of America and Europe accompanied by the Indonesian Ambassador to Croatia and his staff. Meanwhile, the Croatian Delegation is chaired by the MVEP Director General of Politics and consists of officials from the Asia Oceania Division and the MVEP Bilateral Economic Cooperation Division.
The meeting generally discussed the development of Indonesia-Croatia relations and cooperation in various fields, such as the economy, tourism, people-to-people contact, and defense and security. Also being discussed are issues in the region and globally of common concern, including the dynamics in ASEAN, the European Union, the Ukraine-Russia crisis, the situation in the Western Balkans and mutual support in various international organizations. Both parties will also encourage the holding of meetings at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, including on the sidelines of international meetings such as the UN General Assembly.
Furthermore, as an effort to introduce Indonesia's profile and priorities to Croatian officials, the Director General of America and Europe also gave a public lecture at the MVEP Diplomatic Academy Building which was attended by around 40 people who were officials at MVEP and members of the Croatian Diplomatic Club. The topics raised in public lectures were about Indonesia's foreign policy, Indonesia's position on a number of current issues, and the role of the Indonesian Presidency in the G-20.
This year's series of Political Consultation and Public Lecture activities coincided with the 30th anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between RI-Croatia which had been officially established since 2 September 1992. The two countries remain committed to continuously enhancing cooperation in various fields in the future.
Banoo, a startup managed by Indonesian students at Imperial College London, becomes the first Indonesian representative to take home the grand prize of WE Innovate, the prestigious accelerator program at Imperial College London. Banoo was founded by a number of Indonesian students; one of them is Selly Shafira, an MSc Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Management student at Imperial College Business School. He and his team won the £15,000 grand prize at the WE Innovate Finals last June 22 for the technology, which they created to support fish farmers in Indonesia to be more productive.
According to Banoo co-founder, Lakshita Aliva Zein, climate change has affected water quality in aquaculture practices, and increased the risk of fish mortality and inefficient aquaculture. He also said that fish farmers or cultivators can no longer rely on traditional methods to predict weather or water quality because the risk of loss is higher if they don't use technology for direct problem solving. In addition, Indonesia's water quality is also low because ponds do not have a good oxygen circulation system, resulting in unhealthy fish and toxic waste. Therefore, Banoo Solutions is an affordable and integrated aquaculture technology for fish farmers to monitor and solve water quality problems in real-time through Internet of Things (IoT) systems: microbubble aeration systems, water quality sensors, and mobile applications that enable farmers to monitor their pool remotely.
The Banoo system is aeration that produces micro-sized bubbles to increase dissolved oxygen and improve water quality. This increase in dissolved oxygen improves the fish's metabolism as well as their appetite. With the improved metabolism, fish will eat more so that less fish food will end up as waste at the bottom of the pond and produce water waste that may damage the environment. The Banoo Internet of Things sensor is the brain of the Banoo system that can monitor water quality and automate the operation of microbubble aerators. With the Banoo mobile app, fish farmers can monitor and control their ponds from anywhere, save transportation costs and reduce the risk of crop losses due to delays in handling problems.
Citizens and coffee’s lovers in Brunei Darussalam enthusiastically welcomed the Indonesian coffee promotion activity done by the Indonesian Embassy in Bandar Seri Begawan. In its statement received in Jakarta on Monday (4/7), the embassy reported that more than one hundred guests enthusiastically attended the activity in Brunei, which was held for the first time by the Indonesian Embassy in Bandar Seri Begawan on Saturday (2/7). The theme of the activity is "My Coffee, My Indonesia" which aims at introducing more special types of coffee with various types of varieties from various regions across Indonesia to coffee’s lovers in Brunei.
Indonesian Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, Sujatmiko pointed out that currently, the culture of drinking coffee in Brunei is continuously growing and groing so that the cafe business is also increasingly found. Therefore, it is hoped that this activity can encourage business collaboration between Brunei coffee business enthusiasts and suppliers or roasteries from Indonesia. The Indonesian coffee promotion activity was attended by local government officials, diplomatic circles, business importers of Indonesian products, cafe owners in Brunei, media/influencers and young people of Brunei. The series of events began with a talk show hosted by a Bruneian coffee expert who is also a coffee expert, barista instructor, M. Fadhil Abubakar, who told about the superior taste of Indonesian coffee.
Moreover, the Indonesian Embassy in Bandar Seri Begawan invited six local cafes to take part in promoting Indonesian coffee at the coffee tasting session. Types of coffee promoted include Arabica Gayo, Toba Aek Raja, Kamojang Honey Anaerob, Ijen Yellow Cattura, Bali Sudana, Toraja Kalosi, Malabar Cibercek, Fruit Bomb Puntang produced by selected cafes and coffee roasteries in Indonesia. Each guest seemed enthusiastic in discussing and tasting the coffee served based on what they like.
The Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo supported an artist from West Java, Ardian Sumarwan in promoting and teaching Angklung to disabled in Japan. Report of the Indonesian Embassy Tokyo received in Jakarta on Monday (4/7) mentioned that an angklung artist from Bandung, Ardian Sumarwan taught how to play angklung for disabled people in front of 250 lecturers and students of music arts at Gifu University and Chubu University in Japan.
The unique method used by Ardian in teaching angklung got attention from Japanese music artists for its inclusive feature. The method enabled the disabled, especially the deaf to enjoy and play angklung. The special angklung playing method for the disabled was taught by Ardian using a lamp as an angklung number or tone to be played, which allows the deaf to follow the tone and play angklung.
Ardian Sumarwan also explained that his goal to Japan was to spread music learning methods for the disabled for music art teachers in Japan. He affirmed that his mission to Japan was also to introduce angklung to the people of Japan, especially for the students of music studies and disabled faculty at Gifu University and Chubu University. By establishing good relations between Indonesia and Japan through Gifu University and Chubu University, he hoped to realize a concert by the disabled students in Gifu Province. Later, he wants to spread angklung studies across all disabled schools in Japan.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Ambassador to Japan, Heri Akhmadi gave full support for the angklung promotion by Ardian Sumarwan. He said that inclusivity is an important element in the promotion of Indonesian arts and culture in Japan.
Indonesian Embassy Tokyo held a business meeting between Japan Autoparts Industries Association - JAPIA and Indonesian Auto Parts Small and Medium Industry Association (PIKKO) at Indonesian Embassy Tokyo on Wednesday, for a cooperation opportunity with a Japanese association member company.
Indonesian Ambassador for Japan Heri Akhmadi, in a press release received by ANTARA on Thursday, said that most small and medium industries are partnering with Japan for the long-term. Therefore, it expected a tighter and wider cooperation.
Ambassador Heri hoped the existing working network could be followed-up so it resulted in concrete business cooperation. He invited JAPIA Chairman to do a business visit to Indonesia and see the industrial area specifically prepared for auto parts factories.
The JAPIA Chairman and Denso Corporation CEO Koji Arima affirmed his commitment to strengthen the tight cooperation with Indonesia.
According to him, with support from the local suppliers, JAPIA members in Indonesia could increase the local content rate up to 73 percent. Later, JAPIA is ready to support quality improvement of local suppliers from the PIKKO members in order to get a higher competitive value.
In line with JAPIA, the Acting Chairman of Indonesian Auto Parts Small and Medium Industry Association Farri Aditya affirmed the importance of collaboration among parts suppliers in creating a product unit for automotive in anticipation of the 4.0 industry.
Meanwhile, President of Indonesian Automotive Institute, Made Dana Tangkas ensured the tight business relations of Indonesia and Japan in the automotive sector.
Made explained that based on the data from Indonesian Automotive Institute, from 434 members of JAPIA, some 120 of them had entered Indonesia by establishing 162 auto parts companies. Made hoped the JAPIA members could invest in Indonesia and brought the new generation auto parts technology, such as electric motorcycle, gear-box, parking-brake system, and airbag.
The business meeting closed the Autoparts Business Forum 2022, initiated by Indonesian Embassy Tokyo in collaboration with Indonesian Employers Association (APINDO) and supported by Indonesian Industry Ministry, Bank Indonesia, and MUFG Bank of Japan.
From June 24-29 2022, some 30 representatives of Indonesian auto parts small and medium industry under the Indonesian Auto Parts Small and Medium Industry Association stayed in Japan to join the Autoparts Business Forum 2022.
The Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa launched a fashion film entitled "Stories of Hope: Bolstering Indonesia-South Africa Relationships Through Fashion" on the embassy's YouTube channel (29/06).
The film showed collaboration of fashion designs by many designers from Indonesia and South Africa. There were at least 4 elements of collaboration in the film. First, it showed the collaboration of 6 fashion designers, consisting of 3 Indonesian designers namely Irmasari Joedawinata, Raegita Oktora, and Weda Githa as well as 3 South African designers namely Bianca Malan, Nabeela Francis, and Lisakhanya Matya. The designers has been collaborating virtually since November 2021.
The second is ethnic cloth collaboration. The film also showed beautiful works of the six designers that mixed Indonesian batik and South African shweshwe. While the third is the shooting location which showed amazing landscapes of the two nations namely Melasti Beach in Bali and Scarborough Beach in Cape Town.
The last is collaboration of the organizers which involved various people from Indonesia and South Africa. In producing the film, the Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria cooperated with the Indonesian Fashion Chamber, TFG - a South African retailer, and the Imprint Luxury - the facilitator from South Africa, supported by Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry and Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) Johannesburg.
Former Indonesian Ambassador to South Africa, who currently is the Secretary General for Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) in Mauritius, H.E. Salman Al Farisi said that the collaboration is aimed at not only strengthening the two countries' people interaction, but also promoting the wealth of culture and creative economy.
Besides, it also gave a message that even being colonized or enslaved in the past, both countries can rise and become influential in their regions. All this happens because of the people's stories of hope in overcoming challenges.
Indonesian Ambassador to Cambodia, Sudirman Haseng handed over a copy of Memorandum of Understanding on Indonesia-Cambodia Tourism Cooperation to Cambodian Tourism Minister, Dr. Thong Khon in an official event on Friday (24/6). The MoU was signed by Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno and his Cambodian counterpart, Minister Dr. Thong Khon amid the ASEAN Tourism Forum (18/01).
Cambodian Tourism Minister stated that, after hit by pandemic, currently the tourism in Cambodia is recovering. He also said until May 2022, some 343 thousand foreign tourists have visited Cambodia, increasing 272 percent from the previous year. About connectivity, Minister Thong Khon hoped for a Phnom Penh-Jakarta direct flight which was stopped in 2019 to be reopened, to support the two countries' tourism sector.
In his remarks, Ambassador Sudirman Haseng said that the MoU has brought the Indonesia-Cambodia tourism cooperation to a higher level. After the MoU signing, Indonesian Embassy Phnom Penh implemented it in the form of Halla tourism basic training for officials of the Cambodian Tourism Ministry.
Ambassador Sudirman also included the Beyond Bali tourism promotion by screening of "Labuan Hati" and coffee cupping from East Nusa Tenggara, which was expected to attract Cambodians to visit Indonesia.
The cooperation sectors included in the Indonesia-Cambodia Tourism Cooperation MoU were tourism promotion and marketing, tourism destination management, private cooperation, capacity increase, Meeting, Incentive, Conference, and Exhibition (MICE) cooperation, events, and connectivity.
The Indonesian Employers Association (APINDO) along with the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo promoted the Indonesian automotive component small and medium industries (SMEs) in Japan. Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita in a press release received in Jakarta, Tuesday (28/6) said that small and medium industries must be promoted and become a strategic priority in the global automotive supply chain. Thereby, he greatly appreciates Indonesian Ambassador to Japan, Heri Akhmadi over his proactive efforts to organize the business forum. This was conveyed in a key speech at the Indonesia - Japan Autoparts Business Forum which was initiated by the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo, Monday ( 27/6). Japan is known to have become Indonesia's main partner in the automotive industry, which has contributed to the absorption of more than 1.5 million workers along the industrial supply value chain.
Ambassador Heri Akhmadi also said that with the announcement of the import substitution target of 35 percent by the Government of Indonesia, certainly, Indonesian automotive components of SMEs have a great opportunity to meet the needs of the Domestic Component Level (TKDN) from various Japanese automotive manufacturers in Indonesia. A total of 30 Indonesian automotive componens of SMEs have the opportunity to promote in Japan. Most of these SMEs have also collaborated with Japan for a long period of time under the auspices of the Automotive Component Small-Medium Industry Association.
Meanwhile, Chairman of APINDO, Hariyadi B. Sukamdani said that he supported the development of small and medium industries, especially the automotive component sector to advance class by facilitating international cooperation through international trade and investment activities. In line with this mission, APINDO encourages the SMEs companies to participate in a business forum that brings together Indonesian automotive components of SMEs and Japanese business players or suppliers. Besides Minister Agus Gumiwang, Indonesia Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, Dody Budi Waluyo was also present at the autoparts business forum in Nagoya. He explained the economic development of Indonesia to convince Japanese businesspeople of macroeconomic stability and investment opportunities that have been designed by the Government of Indonesia.