VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

South Korea and Indonesia on Friday signed an economic partnership agreement aimed at boosting investment and trade between the two countries, in areas ranging from automobiles to apparel, officials said.

South Korea is among Indonesia’s top ten trading partners and investors, but the economic relationship still did not reflect the true potential, Indonesian Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto said at a signing ceremony broadcast online from Seoul.

Under the agreement, South Korea will eliminate more than 95% of its tariff lines and Indonesia eliminate over 92% and give preferential tariffs to support Korean investment, Indonesia’s trade ministry said in a statement.

The comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) will not only impact industries such as automobiles but also technology, South Korea’s Industry Minister Sung Yoon-mo said.

“This CEPA will also facilitate exchanges of professionals in area such as science, technology, software and robotics, promoting cooperation in high-tech industry,” Sung said.

In 2019, trade between the two countries was worth $15.65 billion and between 2015-2019 South Korean companies invested nearly $7 billion in Indonesia, Indonesian trade ministry data showed.

Indonesia aimed to start implementing the deal next year, Minister Agus said.

Indonesia has been trying to encourage foreign investors including South Korean companies to invest in plants and components for electric vehicles to take advantage of the country’s rich nickel ore reserves, which are used to make batteries.

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group and LG Chem Ltd are among South Korean companies reported to be considering investments in battery cell manufacturing in Indonesia. (reuters)

Indonesia needs solid public health and economic policies to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, World Bank country director for Indonesia and Timor Leste, Satu Kahkonen, said.

"Solid public health and economic policies will be the key to recovery efforts," she stated in the Indonesia Economy Prospects report (December 2020 edition), which was released in Jakarta on Thursday.

The government must create policies for improving public health and building a solid economy because Indonesia is experiencing a recession, with economic growth contracting 5.32 percent in the second quarter and 3.49 percent in the third quarter, Kahkonen said.

A recession does not mean there is no hope for the future, she emphasized adding, steps need to be taken to speed up recovery.

"Indonesia is experiencing a recession, but that does not mean there is no hope for the future. The challenge of recovery is likely to be long and full of challenges,” she explained.

Public health will be crucial for a fast and safe recovery so Indonesia's decision to reopen its economy must also involve steps to maintain public health, she noted.

She said that the ability to carry out tests and contact tracing is the main thing that is important in the midst of a pandemic along with the government's efforts to encourage people to get vaccinated.

"Once the vaccine has been introduced, it will help," she remarked.

Not only that, the Indonesian government also needs to ensure that domestic needs are met properly because there are several sectors that are currently still witnessing a contraction, she pointed out.

According to Kahkonen, the sectors that are currently facing a contraction are also contributing to the rising unemployment, which is currently higher than before the pandemic struck.

In addition, there are many small and medium scale companies that are still facing uncertainty about the future, so the Indonesian government must implement well-measured efforts to help them, she observed.

"To be able to restore this condition at the household level and small-scale enterprises, we need to carry out measured efforts that are well supported," she added.

She suggested that the Indonesian government continue to prepare a good strategy to meet its fiscal and economic goals even though the fiscal response strategy has been implemented.

The Indonesian government's challenge will be to develop an exit strategy to support the recovery, she noted.

“Therefore, we also need to prioritize fiscal and taxation plans so as to reduce financing," she said. (antaranews)

The economic potential of Indonesia's marine sector can reach US$1.33 trillion, according to the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).

"The role of the marine sector is significant in the nation's development, and it can become a source of income. The economic potential of Indonesia's marine sector has reached US$1.33 trillion from 327 coastal districts and cities," the agency's Director for Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Sri Yanti, stated during a webinar here on Thursday.

Yanti affirmed that the fisheries sector had played a notable role in economic growth and welfare improvement.

For driving economic growth, Yanti pointed out that the fisheries sector provided animal products and raw materials of processed foods for the domestic and export markets.

For boosting welfare, the fisheries sector had become a source of income for fishermen and residents in coastal areas.

Yanti believes that the sector can potentially open up jobs for 45 million people.

Director of Information and Communication of Economic and Maritime Affairs of the Ministry of Informatics and Communication Septriana Tangkary had earlier stated that the three sectors of marine tourism, fisheries, and transportation had the basic potential to boost resilience of the national maritime industry.

As the world largest archipelagic nation, Indonesia has abundant sea wealth worth US$171 billion annually.

The potential encompasses fisheries, marine tourism, shipping, sea services, and renewable energy that comprises wave energy, tidal energy, ocean thermal, oil and gas.

However, the country continues to be bogged down by a huge challenge to optimize the potential of its marine wealth to boost resilience of the maritime industry, Tangkary remarked. (antaranews)

The Indonesian government has been striving unceasingly to expand the protection and fulfillment of human rights (HAM) to the regional level to encourage the development of more human rights-friendly districts and cities in the country.

Presidential Chief of Staff, Moeldoko, made the remarks at the 2020 Human Rights Festival in Jakarta on Thursday.

He said the effort to develop such cities and districts is aimed at making basic human rights reach all levels of society.

"(This is) In accordance with the President's directives for the protection and fulfillment of human rights to not only be socialized, but also conveyed and felt by the community. So, I encourage more districts/cities to be human rights-friendly,” he added.

Of the 514 districts and cities in Indonesia, 259 have received awards for the attention they have given to human rights, he pointed out.

He said he believes that it is therefore necessary to synchronize the policies of the central and regional governments with the principles of human rights, both civil as well as political, especially policies on the commitment to tolerance and fulfillment of rights of various sectors, ranging from economy, health, education, rights of groups with disabilities, and vulnerable groups, among other rights.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed all aspects of life, should not substantively affect the protection and fulfillment of basic human rights, Moeldoko asserted.

As per President Joko Widodo's directives, the central and regional governments should continue to advance human rights under any circumstances, he said.

"Do not let the crisis bring setbacks, rather, turn it into a momentum to achieve a big leap. In this case, the government has moved quickly through various regulations, fulfilling the budget while still prioritizing public safety and health," he added.

Moeldoko also said the 2020 Human Rights Festival could serve as a momentum for all parties to prioritize and implement human rights principles proactively. That way, the festival could map out issues of human rights protection that have gone unnoticed along with ways to resolve them, he added.

Meanwhile, head of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), Ahmad Taufan Damanik, said the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the respect and protection of human rights around the world, especially health rights.

He also explained how the main principle of rights works, saying if one right is curtailed then other rights also get curtailed, but, if one right is fulfilled, it would complement other rights.

"The 2020 Human Rights Festival can hopefully become a bridge for all parties to share knowledge and experiences together as a form of respect and protection of human rights," he remarked.

Chairman of the International NGO Forum on Indonesia (INFID), Totok Yulianto, who joined the event virtually, said the central government, supported by the regional governments, is essentially responsible for fulfilling people's human rights.

Therefore, he said, implementing a human rights friendly district/city is a new strategy that has been developed globally for advancing human rights. He said he hopes that efforts to respect and protect human rights can be carried out properly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The festival on human rights has been held since 2014 in various cities. The 2020 festival took place in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, making it the first city outside of Java to have hosted such an event.

The 2020 Human Rights Festival, themed ‘Upholding Human Rights in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Solutions’, was also the first to be held virtually. (antaranews)