VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo meets with Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday morning (10/1/2024) at Malacanang Palace, Philippines.(Photo: Screenshot of RTVMalacanang YouTube LIVE Broadcast)

VOInews, Jakarta: President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo met with Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday morning (10/1/2024) at Malacanang Palace, Philippines in the framework of bilateral meetings between the two countries. In his official statement, President Joko Widodo said Indonesia and the Philippines agreed to strengthen border cooperation and discussed the importance of revising border patrol agreements and cross-border agreements.

"In the field of politics and security, we agreed to strengthen border cooperation and I have conveyed, the importance of encouraging the acceleration of revisions of border patrol agreements and border crossing agreements and the completion of the contiguous shelf boundary as well as strengthening defense cooperation including strengthening defense equipment," President Joko Widodo said in an official statement broadcast live on the RTVMalacanang YouTube account, which was monitored from Jakarta, Wednesday (10/1/2024).

Regarding economic cooperation, President Joko Widodo said the two countries agreed to continue to open market access and safety measures related to Indonesian coffee products.

"To increase trade, we agreed to continue to open market access and Indonesia asked for Philippine support related to special safeguard measures for Indonesian coffee products," President Joko Widodo said.

President Joko Widodo also appreciated the Philippines' trust in Indonesian SOEs in building important infrastructure in the Philippines.

"I appreciate the Philippines' trust in Indonesian SOEs in building important infrastructure in the Philippines and the Groundbreaking of the North-South Commuter Rail Project is important to be accelerated," he continued.

Furthermore, on regional cooperation, President Joko Widodo said that Indonesia and the Philippines see the importance of strengthening the unity and centrality of ASEAN and must uphold the principles of international law and maintain a positive image for peace, stability and prosperity.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi meets with Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique A. Manalo ahead of Indonesian President Joko Widodo's meeting with Philippine President Marcos Jr. at the 7th JCBC on Tuesday (9/1/2024) in Manila, Philippines. (Photo: Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

VOInews, Jakarta: Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Indonesia should utilize the moment of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) Meeting to strengthen Indonesia's bilateral relations with the Philippines. She said this during a meeting with Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique A. Manalo ahead of Indonesian President Joko Widodo's meeting with Philippine President Marcos Jr. at the 7th JCBC in Manila, Philippines.

"We must utilize this momentum to strengthen our bilateral relations in various sectors of common interest and to address regional and global challenges together," Retno said in a statement received on Wednesday (10/1/2024) in Jakarta.

Foreign Minister Retno also said that Indonesia welcomes the strengthening of bilateral trade and exploring new trade opportunities.

"We welcome the growth of our bilateral trade over the past 5 years despite the global crisis to further strengthen bilateral trade, we are committed to exploring new trade opportunities," Retno said.

In addition, in the investment sector, Foreign Minister Retno appreciated and welcomed the enthusiasm of investors from both countries to strengthen mutual cooperation.

"A delegation from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also visiting Manila," she said.

In addition to discussing bilateral cooperation between the two countries, Foreign Minister Retno appreciated the joint efforts of the Philippines and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in registering and confirming Indonesian Descendants in Mindanao and stated that Indonesia looks forward to further support for the second batch of registration.

"I also appreciate the joint efforts of the Philippines and UNHCR in registering and certifying Indonesian Descendants (WNIK) in Mindanao and we look forward to further support for the second batch of WNIK registration," she concluded.

VOINews.id, Jakarta: Archbishop of Jakarta, Cardinal Ignasius Suharyo, invited Christians to continue to foster a sense of love for their homeland by becoming smart voters in the 2024 general election. The archbishop hopes that this election can produce leaders who have high integrity and dignity.

VOInews, Jakarta: The Ministry of Trade urges all franchise businesses to have a franchise registration certificate (STPW). Septo Soepriyatno, Director of Business Development for Distribution Actors at the Ministry of Trade, said that a business cannot be called a franchise if it does not have an STPW.

According to Septo, the designation of a company as a franchise is regulated in Government Regulation No. 42/2007 on Franchising and Minister of Trade Regulation No. 71/2019 on Franchising.

"Franchise companies are required to have STWP. If there is no STWP, the company is not a franchise," Septo said through a written statement in Jakarta, Tuesday.

Government Regulation No. 42/2007 Article 10 paragraph (1) states that franchisors must register a franchise offering prospectus before entering into a franchise agreement with the franchisee.

Meanwhile, Minister of Trade Regulation 71/2019 Article 10 states that franchisors, advanced franchisors, franchisees, and advanced franchisees are required to have STPW. MOT 71/2019 Article 3 states that individuals or business entities are prohibited from using franchise terms and/or names for their business names and/or activities, if they do not meet the franchise criteria.

Septo mentioned that the criteria for franchising include, among others, having business characteristics, proven to have provided benefits, having standards for services and goods and/or services offered that are made in writing, easy to teach and apply, continuous support, and registered intellectual property rights (IPR).

If an individual or business entity violates the provisions in Permendag 71/2019 Article 3, he said, administrative sanctions will be imposed in the form of recommendations for revocation of business licenses and/or operational/commercial licenses to the issuing official in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations. This is regulated in Permendag 71/2019 Article 32.

"For this reason, the mention of a franchise business must fulfill these provisions and cannot be used for companies that do not have an STPW," Septo said.(ANTARA)