VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said Indonesia's world competitiveness ranking has risen 10 places from 44 in 2022 to 34 in 2023 on account of massive infrastructure development.

The world competitiveness ranking is issued by the International Institute for Management Development.

"The 10 (place) rise is the highest rise in the world and one of the causes is infrastructure matters," he highlighted while opening the "Eight Years of National Strategic Projects 2023" event here on Wednesday.

He informed that in the past eight years, 161 national strategic projects (PSNs) have been completed with total worker absorption reaching 11 million. The increase in the number of workers is one of the factors that has increased Indonesia's competitiveness.

He then requested that all PSNs be completed by the first half of 2024. He also asked all relevant ministries and institutions to monitor the development of PSNs.

"Carefully study the root of the problem. If there is a problem, give a deadline (for handling the problem)," he advised.

He also stressed the need to ensure that no PSN is stalling.

He further said that central and regional governments must respond quickly to problems faced in PSN development and seek solutions.

The President also highlighted the importance of public communication regarding the development of strategic projects to prevent misunderstandings with various parties.

He also lauded Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Hadi Tjahjanto for moving quickly to resolve land certification issues.

According to him, of the 126 million plots of land that need to be certified, the Ministry of Agrarian and Spatial Planning has completed certification for 106 million plots.

"Hopefully, in 2024, all 126 million will be completed," he said. (Antaranews)

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has picked a woman as foreign minister and appointed as defence minister a politician who has worked to build ties with Taiwan in Wednesday's new cabinet line-up.

The choices, among 11 new faces and five women, spotlight a focus on gender equality and a stronger line on defence as Kishida battles sagging ratings, with his term as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) set to end next year.

Both ministers face the task of navigating ties with China that soured after Japan began releasing into the Pacific Ocean treated radioactive water from its wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, angering its neighbour.

Kishida said the new defence minister will be Minoru Kihara, a pro-Taiwan politician who has visited the democratically-governed island in the past and belongs to a Japan-Taiwan interparliamentary group.

"I do think this sends a message that Japan is seeking stability in Taiwan alongside the United States," said security expert Takashi Kawakami at Takushoku University in the capital.

The choice of Kihara as defence minister is not an anti-China move, but indicates a closeness with Taiwan, he added.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and will be sensitive to any shift in Japan's stance on the island.

Kihara will also oversee efforts to bolster Japan's military in a plan to double defence spending over the five years to 2027, and grapple with funding the buildup as tension rises in East Asia over China's military expansion and maritime disputes.

The new foreign minister is Yoko Kamikawa, a former justice minister who oversaw the execution of key members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult responsible for the deadly sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995.

The choice of Kamikawa, who has a master's degree from Harvard University, shows the government wants to ensure smooth ties with the United States, said Yu Uchiyama, a professor of politics at Tokyo University.

"She has plenty of experience, and I do think she will make significant contributions to strengthening ties with the United States," he said.

One political commentator said ministerial roles had diminished in importance, however, as summits increasingly become a forum for dialogue with China.

"Around the world, summit diplomacy has become mainstream," said Shigenobu Tamura, who previously worked for the LDP.

"Even if the foreign and defence minister posts change, there won't be any change or impact on Japan's diplomatic policy."

The cabinet reshuffle comes amid a dip in popularity for Kishida, following a string of scandals from data mishaps linked to government identity cards and the arrest of a vice minister on suspicion of graft.

About 43% of respondents disapproved of Kishida's leadership while 36% approved, a poll by public broadcaster NHK showed last week.

Kishida, who assumed office two years ago, retained both his finance and trade ministers, signalling there would be no major shift in economic policies.

The new cabinet's priorities include pulling together a fresh package of economic stimulus to cushion the squeeze on households from rising fuel bills, tackling the fallout from persistent inflation. (Reuters)

Unlicensed tutoring services in China could face penalties of up to 100,000 yuan ($13,715.54), the country's Education Ministry said as it seeks to crack down on the lucrative after school industry and promote a "good environment" for learning.

The announcement made by the Ministry of Education on state run CCTV on Tuesday, is the most recent measure by authorities to reform China's education sector and alleviate the academic pressure on students.

Beijing in 2021 imposed tough rules to clamp down on the booming $120 billion private tutoring industry, aiming both to ease pressure on children and boost the country's birth rate by lowering family costs.

However, problems such as unlicensed after school tutoring continues to "varying degrees" and the problem of individual institutions "taking money and running away" still occurs, the ministry said.

"There is an urgent need to improve the legal system for after school training," it said.

China's slowing economy, grappling with chronically low consumer confidence, is affecting young couples' plans to either get married or have children, compounding the demographic headaches of one of the world's fastest-ageing societies.

The high cost of education has been cited as a key factor by young Chinese for not wanting to have children. (Reuters)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday the geopolitical climate had changed completely since the United Nations imposed sanctions on North Korea, and he accused the West of breaking pledges on humanitarian support for Pyongyang.

Lavrov was speaking to a Russian TV reporter as President Vladimir Putin hosted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a summit in Russia's far east. Since 2006 North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions, which Russia supported, over its banned nuclear weapons and missile programmes.

"Sanctions against North Korea were adopted in a completely different geopolitical situation when there were problems establishing dialogue (with Pyongyang), when there were quite serious debates in the Security Council," Lavrov told Russian TV reporter Pavel Zarubin.

He said the reason that Russia and China had blocked a further U.S.-drafted sanctions resolution against North Korea last year was that the West had given a false promise at the time of the original sanctions on humanitarian aid for the country.

"That was another lie. We, the Chinese and the North Koreans were deceived," Lavrov said.

In a separate clip posted by Zarubin on social media, the reporter raised the sanctions issue again with Lavrov and asked him to comment on Western media reports that the Putin-Kim meeting could lead to Russia supplying arms to North Korea, or vice versa.

Lavrov did not reply directly, but said the West had broken contractual agreements by providing Soviet-era weaponry to Ukraine - a reference to arms supplied to Kyiv by central and eastern European countries which once belonged to the Moscow-led Warsaw Pact but which are now members of NATO.

Lavrov said this violated "every possible contractual obligation" because the weapons had been originally supplied by Moscow with end-user certificates that prevented them from being transferred to third parties.

Lavrov's assertion that sanctions on North Korea were the product of a different global situation and of bad faith from untrustworthy Western powers were significant at a moment when Russia's own adherence to them is under close scrutiny.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia maintained its commitments as a member of the U.N. Security Council but this would not be an obstacle to developing its relations with North Korea. (Reuters)