African countries began to see the railway industry as a solution to mass transportation and means of transporting goods, as well as a medium for increasing intra-African trade. The current situation opens opportunities for Indonesian industries to enter and participate in development in Africa. This was conveyed by the Indonesian Ambassador in Pretoria, Salman Al Farisi, welcoming the participation of the State Owned Enterprises, PT INKA (Persero), at the "Africa Rail" Exhibition which took place in Johannesburg, June 19-20 2019.

Africa Rail is the largest railway exhibition in Africa. At the exhibition which has entered its 22nd implementation year, there are at least 130 exhibitors and 6,000 visitors including decision makers, operators, regulators, and officials in the procurement of railways from various countries. Besides PT. INKA, internationally renowned companies in the industry and railroad components participating in Africa Rail include CRRC Corporation Limited, Oracle Construction and Engineering, Voith Transnet, GE, Progress Rail, KNORR, and Luchini. While operators including Procurement Teams present include Botswana Railways, DRC, Ghana Railways, TransNamib and Uganda Railways. The presence of PT INKA as an effort to penetrate the wide open African market into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

With the ratification of AfCFTA documents by at least 22 African countries at the end of May 2019, AfCFTA officially applies in the African region. Under this Free Trade Pact, African countries are committed to cutting tariff barriers by 90% on various types of goods with the aim of increasing intra-African trade. At the same time, African Union (AU) as a regional organization in charge of AfCFTA, also launched the AU 2040 Vision for the railway revitalization program in Africa. Through Vision 2040, a road map was launched as an effort to overcome various gaps in the inequality of connectivity of African countries, including the creation of a network of high-speed railways that connects all African capitals and commercial centers on the continent.

PT INKA (Persero) 's Corporate Communication, Hartono, expressed the desire of PT INKA to raise more Indonesian flags in the African region. Amid the dynamics of competition between railroad manufacturers by various countries, PT INKA offers reliable quality products and after-sales services.

"The presence of PT INKA for the first time at the Africa Rail exhibition is expected to open the door for the next opportunity, after we succeeded in exporting trains to Bangladesh, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia," Hartono said on the sidelines of the exhibition. Furthermore, it was said that among the advantages of PT INKA's after-sales service which was always put forward was the provision of experts for buyers so as to ensure the operationalization of the products well, empowerment of local human resources, and the existence of long-term technology transfer.

During the exhibition, in order to explore the market and develop cooperation, the Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria bridged the PT INKA meeting with the South African company Transnet and the PRASA train operator. Both Transnet and PRASA expressed interest in finding out more about PT INKA products and it is hoped that follow-up talks will occur. PT. INKA has also communicated with several companies related to the possibility of railway development cooperation in Africa including Mozambique, Nigeria, Botswana and Zambia.

The Indonesian government continues to intensify efforts to penetrate non-traditional markets, including Africa. In the railway industry, the Indonesia Railway Development Consortium (IRDC) has been formed which consists of several related BUMNs such as PT. INKA, PT Waskita Karya, PT. LEN and PT. KAI. The consortium is expected to fly the Indonesian flag, becoming a one-step solution. Together with IRDC, PT INKA seeks to get the Indonesian railway product development market through the provision of railway facilities and the development of infrastructure including the construction of infrastructure, operations, maintenance and the provision of funding solution packages.

The success of PT INKA in producing and marketing railroad products made the company continue to expand its production capacity by building new factories, including in Banyuwangi. Construction of new production facilities is expected to be able to meet the needs of railroad facilities in the wider foreign market. The choice of location in Banyuwangi is done by considering the ease of access to the port and the availability of labor that will support the operationalization of the company. (Kemenlu-Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) was asked to promote the ideas of the maritime trilogy, including port standardization, shipping alliances, and industries that are easily accessible via ports.

"The government needs to be more active in encouraging synergies and collaborations between the three elements, and promoting the concept of maritime trilogy, namely port standardization, shipping alliances, and industries that are easily accessible via ports," a maritime expert from Surabaya Institute Technology (ITS), Saut Gurning said in Jakarta on Thursday.

According to Saut, participation and encouragement in terms of government budget and finance need to be maximized.

For non-commercial service, government should provide capital costs for dock infrastructures, loading and unloading equipment and human resources development.

"In the future, efforts to stimulate regional funding through local administration-owned enterprises and local banks are needed to explore interests by providing direct benefits for the development of port services," Saut said.

The idea of the maritime trilogy will also reduce national logistics costs, allowing for more competition with neighboring countries.

"Actually, there is nothing new about the three parameters. However, because these three factors become one proposal package, the three proposed variables, namely, standardization including port performance and facilities, shipping collbaoration, and accessibility for industrial estates, are interesting," he said.

According to Saut, port standardization has been initiated by the government, particularly in relation to the performance of port operations.

Regarding shipping collaboration, there are many docks and terminals has been operating under shipping companies, known as "dedicated" terminals.

Saut said he was optimistic that the maritime trilogy would at least provide triple effects, namely for the port itself, the shipping and industry, as well as economic activities to the people living near the ports.

Even so, he said, the application of maritime trilogy was facing several challenges, one of which was because some port operators tend to focus only on the interests of their entity.

"I think, efforts to collaborate among  port operators, including stevedoring services and shipping, should be established by various state-owned enterprises and private businesses, as well as local administration-owned enterprises," he explained.

Some shipping industry players positively welcomed the idea of the maritime trilogy. Corporate Secretary of the National Shipping Company (PT Pelni) Yahya Kuncoro said the implementation of the maritime trilogy would also provide great benefits for the company.

"As a shipping company, we have an interest in providing service faster and faster. Of course, collaboration among the three parties would impact on reducing operational costs," he said. (ant)

An Indonesian industry ministry's delegation paid a recent visit to Taiwan to attract semiconductor companies to invest in Indonesia.
"Some time ago, we had visited Taiwan in search of companies that will invest in Indonesia's semiconductor industry, as this component can be marketed everywhere," Director General of Metal, Machinery, Transportation Means and Electronic Industry of the Industry Ministry Harjanto stated in Jakarta on Thursday. The semiconductor industry is in need of a considerable amount of funding, and to this end, the ministry has specially approached Taiwanese semiconductor companies to invest in Indonesia, he revealed. (ant) 

"Presently, Indonesia merely has one semiconductor industry in Batam. We want more semiconductor companies to operate (in Indonesia)," he emphasized.
Harjanto remarked that Indonesia currently has several downstream electronic industries. Hence, now is the time to switch them to midstream and upstream industries.
"We want to encourage the midstream industry to become an upstream industry in the country," he added. (ant)

The labor rights advocacy group Migrant CARE expects President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to talk to ASEAN leaders about the protection of migrant workers, an issue that has been on his national agenda and which many are hoping will be championed in ASEAN.

According to Migrant CARE Executive Director Wahyu Susilo, ASEAN has issued a set of commitments on migrant workers, including the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, as well as the ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers.  However, there is still reluctance within member states, especially among destination countries, to translate declarations into action.

“Compared to other sectors under the ASEAN socio-cultural pillar, the migrant workers’ issue is lagging behind in operational and measurable protection mechanisms,” Susilo noted.

Regarding the protection of migrant workers, there continues to be potential exposure of migrants to ideas promoting radicalism and violent extremism in the ASEAN region, he added.

Therefore, as leader of the country with the largest population in ASEAN, Indonesia must pro-actively promote initiatives that prevent workers from being exposed to radicalism.  Susilo said that the initiative must be integrated into a mechanism to protect migrant workers, both when they are in their home countries and in destination countries.

"This approach requires a regional commitment," he said.

For this, Migrant CARE has urged President Jokowi to raise the issue of protection of migrants at the 34th ASEAN Summit, where he is expected to participate in a series of meetings with leaders.

The president is traveling to Bangkok this weekend to attend the two day-summit. He is scheduled to raise three important issues to be discussed at the summit, including the US-China trade war and its impact on the ASEAN region, the management of imported waste and the settlement of the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State. (ant)