VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Every year $1 trillion is paid in bribes while an estimated $2.6 trillion are stolen annually through corruption – a sum equivalent to more than 5 per cent of the global GDP. In developing countries, according to the United Nations Development Programme, funds lost to corruption are estimated at 10 times the amount of official development assistance.

Corruption is a serious crime that can undermine social and economic development in all societies. No country, region or community is immune. This year UNODC and UNDP have developed a joint global campaign, focusing on how corruption affects education, health, justice, democracy, prosperity and development.

The 2017 joint international campaign focuses on corruption as one of the biggest impediments to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Today and tomorrow, December 6 and 7, ten ministers and a head of state (from Nauru), will attend the Bali Democracy Forum- BDF 2018. This year the annual event, held  by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, enters its 11th year.

The years 2017 and 2018 are special because Indonesia managed to open two BDF Chapters, one for Africa in Tunisia and one for Europe in Berlin, Germany. These two Chapters or branches were formed because of the interest of countries in Africa and Europe in the dialogue surrounding the challenges of contemporary democracy which have apparently increased. However, the type of problem handling cannot be the same because each continent has a different history of problems.

Europe for example, discussed the challenges of contemporary migration and how democratic values can prioritize humanity and human rights although political and social costs cannot be fully predicted. While in  Africa, the issue is fair governance.

This year the Bali Democracy Forum is themed, "Democracy and Welfare." Most countries in the world consider democracy to be the best system of hope. How do democratic countries achieve prosperity? Maybe that will be discussed by participants in the Bali Democracy Forum in two days.

Indeed,  the purpose a country is established is for the welfare of its people. In the Democratic system the state is managed with inclusive participation from the community. In this case the democratic system must also be able to answer aspects of the state's goals, namely welfare.

Every democratic country has its own experience in developing democracy. Democracy grows and develops in each country in a different way. Therefore, there is actually no similar democracy formula that can be applied in all countries.

For eleven years Indonesia has been successfully  organized the forum for democracy. Not to patronize other countries on  how to practice  democracy, but to provide opportunities for various countries to share democratic experiences. Hopefully the Bali Democracy Forum 2018 will also be a  success.

Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs, Darmin Nasution said that Rupiah has a chance to continue to strengthen after the pressure of a trade war between the United States of America -USA and China began to decrease. This was stated by Minister Darmin in the CEO Networking 2018 in Jakarta, Monday (3-12).

Compared to other developing countries, Minister Darmin also remarked that Rupiah undergoes the fastest increase. In fact, the strengthening of the Rupiah is better than ASEAN countries and other countries' currencies, such as Brazil, India, South Africa and Turkey.

At the opening of the trade this week, Rupiah appreciated against the US dollar. The Rupiah exchange rate which had fallen in the range of Rp. 15,000 per US dollar. This week, it opened higher to Rp. 14,270 per US dollar. Positively, the meeting of US President, Donald Trump and Chinese President, Xi Jinping became one of the triggers. As reported by CNBC on Sunday (12/02/2018), the two leaders agreed that no additional tariffs will be imposed after the upcoming January 1, 2019. This is what is believed to make the trade war subside.

The trade war between the US and China began when the United States threatened the application of tariffs on imported goods to China. The US administration under the leadership of Donald Trump imposed a tariff on import of Chinese goods worth US$34 billion dollars on July 6, 2018. At that time, President Donald Trump threatened to increase trade conflicts with plans to implement tariffs up to US$450 billion for Chinese goods if China countered US policy. That sentiment had put pressure on financial markets, including stocks, currencies and global trade.

The decreased tension of trade war, besides having the potential to strengthen the Rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar, is also expected to re-launch the implementation of the Indonesian government's economic policy program to make improvements, such as improving infrastructure quality, human resources and land redistribution. With the strengthening of the value of the Rupiah against the US dollar, Indonesia's economic system becomes very stable; prices of basic commodities could be reached by all people. And hopefully, the increasing value of Rupiah will show promising signs for Indonesia's progress.

The deterioration of relations between Russia and Ukraine continues. Some countries have even begun to interfere in the escalation of the tension. Two of them are the United States of America and Germany. Both President of the United States, Donald Trump and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel through their statements seemed to give support to Ukraine. President Donald Trump, for example, announced on Thursday (29/11) the cancellation of his planned meeting with Russian President, Vladimir Putin at the G-20 forum in Argentina. Initially, President Donald Trump was scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Argentina from November 30 - December 1, 2018. President Donald Trump remarked that the cancellation of the meeting with President Vladimir Putin was to encourage both Russia and Ukraine to find the best way to resolve the rising tension. Since last Sunday, Russia has not released 3 Ukrainian ships and 24 personnel detained. Regarding the Ukraine and Russia conflict, German Chancellor Angela Merkel clearly blamed Russia. Unlike President Trump who canceled the meeting with President Putin, Angela Merkel felt the need to meet President Putin to discuss the matter. Angela Merkel plans to meet Putin this Friday or Saturday on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.

Previously, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had met Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and discussed the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. German Chancellor Angela Merkel views that the tension cannot be ended with a military solution. Merkel's statement was a reaction to the request of the President of Ukraine that NATO should send its fleet to the disputed location.

Regarding the conflict that occurred due to the detention of 3 Ukrainian ships, President Vladimir Putin stated that the incident was engineered by Ukraine. President Putin said that sea clashes between the Ukrainian and Russian navies were provocations from Ukraine. This was engineered by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to boost his popularity ahead of the presidential election in March 2019.

To be sure, until the G-20 event begins, the issue of Russia and Ukraine is still heating. The conflict and tension become one of the issues of leaders of major countries, such as the United States and Germany. The President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Ukraine have been the subject of new attention in G-20.

The world certainly does not expect that the conflict between the two countries that were part of the Soviet Union explodes into an open war. Because, war is not the best solution to a problem between the two countries.