VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia's Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan has suggested reactivating the bilateral forum with Vietnam to improve bilateral trade.

"The proposal was welcomed by Vietnam as the bilateral meeting between the two countries had stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic," Hasan said in Semarang, Central Java on Sunday after the meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Hong Dien.

Hasan and Dien held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 55th ASEAN Economy Minister Meeting (AEM) and Related Meeting held in Semarang.

The minister has conveyed his interest to visit Vietnam along with entrepreneurs in various sectors such as agriculture, fishery, and electric vehicle industry including the processing of rare earth metals to explore business cooperation with Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien stated that his country is ready to cooperate with Indonesia and expects that the reactivation of bilateral forums can reduce trade barriers.

Dien would also invite Vietnamese businessmen to attend the Business Forum to be held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in September in Jakarta. The country has eyed Indonesia's corn and crude palm oil.

In response to Dien's plan, Hasan stated that he would arrange a meeting between Vietnamese businessmen and Indonesia's largest CPO producer.

"We are ready to bring together Vietnamese businesspersons with Indonesia's top CPO producer," he said.

Total trade between Indonesia and Vietnam in January-June 2023 was recorded at US$6.22 billion. Whereas in 2022, the total trade between the two countries reached US$13.31 billion, an increase compared to 2021 which amounted to US$11.06 billion.

In 2022, Indonesia's exports to Vietnam were recorded at US$8.49 billion while imports from Vietnam reached US$4.82 billion. Thus, Indonesia has a trade surplus of US$3.67 billion. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Governor of Riau Islands Ansar Ahmad invited all elements of society to follow in the footsteps of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and plant more trees in an effort to deal with the global warming crisis.

He made the statement while participating in a mangrove-planting activity on Setokok Island, Batam City, on Sunday, in commemoration of the 78th anniversary of the Independence Day of Indonesia.

"President Jokowi has initiated mangrove plantings here in such a small place. However, it is not a matter of place. We should take the president's action as an inspiration for us to plant trees for the sake of preserving our beloved earth," he remarked in a statement received in Batam on Sunday.

The president's initiative to plant mangrove trees on Setokok Island has led local residents to refer to the planting area as the President's Mangrove Zone.

"Today, we planted mangroves in the name of humanity. The trees we planted will produce oxygen that will sustain all of our lives. On this occasion, I would like to invite everyone to raise the spirit to plant more trees to expand green areas," Ahmad pointed out.

The governor also appealed to communities to maintain and nurture existing plants by caring for the environment and refraining from committing destructive acts and littering.

He noted that everyone is sure to be pleased by a beautiful, green, and refreshing environment, but not everyone has the same awareness to actively preserve and maintain it. Instead, some people tend to be ignorant, litter, and damage the environment, he added.

"Hence, from now on, let us care for nature. Let us enjoy and love nature while actively maintaining and preserving our surrounding environment," he noted. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, together with the ASEAN Center for Energy (ACE), held the ASEAN Green Transport Rally (GTR) to support Indonesia's chairmanship in 2023 and its net zero emissions target.

The ministry's Director General of New, Renewable Energy, and Energy Conservation Yudo Dwinanda Priaadi said here on Sunday that the rally carried the theme "Towards Net Zero Emissions".

The rally of vehicles using environmentally friendly fuels will take the route from Jakarta to Bali on August 20–24, 2023.

According to Priaadi, the theme of the ASEAN GTR 2023 illustrated the strong commitment of ASEAN member countries to overcoming transportation sector challenges in achieving the emission reduction target.

Among the ASEAN countries, Indonesia has the highest energy consumption, which will continue to increase significantly along with its economic and population growth.

On the other hand, Indonesia has a strategic role in developing renewable energy to support economic development and tackle climate change, while at the same time striving to realize energy resilience and independence, universalization, and affordability.

"Energy transition efforts in the transportation sector with the use of green vehicles will support the goal of Indonesia's Net Zero Emission (NZE) in 2060 or even sooner," he said.

Meanwhile, ACE Executive Director Nuki Agya Utama, who was present at the rally release, said that ASEAN GTR 2023 encouraged the awareness of choosing sustainable mobility, which is important for ASEAN's growth and development.

The rally was expected to improve energy efficiency and promote vehicle options that use various energy sources and technologies.

"By integrating the ASEAN Green Transport Rally into the ASEAN Energy Business Forum, ACE is actively focusing on sustainable transportation in the region and highlighting innovative solutions for finding alternative energy sources," Utama said.

He added that innovative solutions are needed to ensure energy security, a stable energy supply, and cheaper energy prices in the transportation sector. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Chair of the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) Council Bahlil Lahadalia has called for the review of the Global Minimum Tax (GMT) as its implementation is considered to benefit only certain countries.

"The adoption of global minimum tax will affect investment incentives. We decided that it needs to be reviewed, to prevent it from only benefiting one particular group of countries," Lahadalia concurrently Indonesia's Minister of Investment/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) said in a statement received here on Sunday.

According to him, only developed countries with strong investment competitiveness will benefit from the GMT implementation, therefore, it needs to be reviewed.

He conveyed the request to review GMT during the 55th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting, in Semarang, Central Java, Saturday (August 19).

According to Lahadalia, developed countries must open up space for developing countries to attract investment to achieve progress.

"Developed countries should give a space for developing countries to accelerate their adjustment so that we are already at the same level when implementing global taxation," he said.

Lahadalia argued that early implementation of GMT will disrupt the downstreaming program being promoted by the Indonesian Government, as investors from developed countries will return to invest in their home countries.

"Global minimum tax of 15 percent will cause developing countries that are pushing downstreaming to experience major obstacles because investors who have the technology will invest in their home countries instead," he explained.

The GMT policy will also force developing countries to send raw materials to developed countries. Lahadalia assessed that GMT is nothing more than the trickery of developed countries.

Moreover, he said, developing countries need more incentives to attract investment, so the taxing policies of developed countries cannot be applied in developing countries without adjustments. (Antaranews)