Indonesia has been working so hard to defend its national interests in facing the European Union's ban on the use of crude palm oil for biofuels, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said.
"In facing the discrimination of several countries against our government in handling this CPO issue, we all must be solid," he told around 2,000 oil palm farmers of Labuhan Batu in North Sumatra Province, during his visit to the district area on Thursday.
During his visit to Labuhan Batu, known as one of Indonesia's main palm oil production centers thanks to the presence of state plantation company PTPN III, Pandjaitan said Indonesia would challenge any party hampering the country's palm oil products.
The government remains committed to defending the country's palm oil industries because they have a significant contribution to the efforts to decline poverty rate and absorb workforce, he said.
Therefore, if the European Union implements its ban on the use of crude palm oil for biofuels, the Indonesian government has prepared several options, including filing a complaint with the WTO and withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
In response to this EU's ban, Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives Bambang Soesatyo deplored the decision saying that the EU had applied double standards in banning Indonesia's CPO commodity.
In responding to the EU's discriminatory decision, the House supports the Indonesian Government's necessary measures, including the possibility of filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO), he said.
The House and the government should walk hand-in-hand to face this challenge, Soesatyo said, adding that maintaining a good friendship with other countries is important, but preserving Indonesia's national interest and the interests of its people are above all.
The noted politician of the Golkar Party also hinted that a retaliation policy against the products of the EU member countries might be applied in response to this ban. As revealed by media reports, the European Parliament had recently decided to ban the use of palm oil in motor fuels from 2021, as it was considered environmentally unfriendly.(ant)
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April
The State-owned Airport Services Company, PT Angkasa Pura I, cooperates with PT Taman Wisata Borobudur Prambanan Ratu Boko / TWC (Persero) in order to support the operation of Yogyakarta International Airport in Kulon Progo district and development of the ten priority tourism destinations.
The cooperation of the two state-owned enterprises includes creating tourism campaign to promote Yogyakarta, Solo and Semarang (or so-called Joglosemar). These three areas located in Central Java region are the main tourist attractions and priority destinations with the iconic Borobudur Temple.
"Angkasa Pura I has an airport and on the other hand TWC has tourism content. So we establish cooperation to attract more tourists," Angkasa Pura I Director of Marketing and Services Devy Suradji said in a written statement received by Antara here Sunday.
He noted that the cooperation allows the two sides to manage a tourism information center, holding joint promotion road trip and joint merchandising.
In addition, Yogyakarta Kulon Progo International Airport has several potential branding spots that can be utilized by TWC to promote tourism.
According to TWC President Director Edy Setijono, Joglosemar is the entrance of Yogyakarta and Central Java for tourists who visit the areas.
Joglosemar, he added, was also a favorite destination for tourists who participate in Java-Bali landline tour packages, and cruise ship tourists as they stop at Tanjung Emas Port, Semarang.
"However, currently accessibility is still a major problem to reach two million foreign tourists target in 2019," Edy said.
However, he is optimistic that the operation of Yogyakarta International Airport, which will become one of the largest airports in Indonesia, will become a new entrance for foreign and domestic tourists to reach the Joglosemar area.
Airport progress
The progress of the construction of the Yogyakarta International Airport, which is one of the National Strategic Projects (PSN), currently has reached 90 percent for the operational phase.
Meanwhile, the overall progress has reached 45 percent. The Yogyakarta International Airport will serve six international flights per day transferred from Adisutjipto Airport.
"International flights are expected to be operational by the end of April 2019. The flights are two flights to and from Singapore and four flights to and from Kuala Lumpur," Devy noted.
Yogyakarta International Airport is expected to be in full operation by the end of this year. With a terminal area of 210 thousand square meters and a runway of 3,250 x 45 meters long, this airport will be able to accommodate wide body aircraft.
In addition, this airport has a capacity of 14 million passengers per year, nine times bigger than that of Adisutjipto Airport. (ant)
April
World Children's Book Day is commemorated every April 2. This commemoration is aimed at fostering the habit of reading and cultivating interest in reading.
In regard to the reading interest, several studies show that the reading interest in Indonesian people is quite low. However, research conducted by Global English Editing in 2018 about the country that spends time reading, the result is quite disappointing. The study shows that Indonesia ranks 16th, better than Argentina, Germany and Canada. The country with the highest reading interest is India with time spent reading above 10 hours per week. Meanwhile, Indonesia is above 6 hours per week. However, this is not the final achievement; there must be ongoing efforts to maintain and even enhance reading interest.
This enhancement in reading interest is, of course, inseparable from the role of the government, the private sector and the community. Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud) of the Republic of Indonesia, for example, continues to optimize the culture of literacy.
Since 2016, the Ministry of Education and Culture has intensified the National Literacy Movement (GLN). In terms of budget, no less than Rp10 trillion is allocated for the development of book literacy. Law No.3 / 2017 concerning the Bookkeeping System states that educational books in Indonesia must be of high quality, affordable and evenly distributed. Thus, as an effort to support the National Literacy Movement (GLN), the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI) signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday (2/04) in a bid to improve the function and role of books in education and culture in Indonesia.
The National Literacy Movement is an effort to strengthen the synergy between the main units of the agents of the literacy movement by gathering all potential and expanding public involvement in developing and cultivating literacy in Indonesia. This movement is carried out thoroughly and simultaneously, from the family sphere to schools and communities in all regions of Indonesia.
Improving national literacy needs to be framed in an integrated national movement. The literacy movement is the responsibility of not only the government, but also all stakeholders, including the business world, universities, social organizations, literacy activists, parents, and society. Therefore, public involvement in every literacy activity is very important to ensure the positive impact of the movement to increase national competitiveness.
April
At the Alliance for Multilateralism forum held in New York, USA, on April 2, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi called on international cooperation for the United Nation Security Council.
“Indonesia is very concerned about the lack of respect toward multilateralism and the increasing unilateral actions across several fields,” Marsudi said in a press statement received here on Thursday.
Emphasizing the importance of multilateralism in inter-state relations, she said, “Multilateralism gives our countries a chance at equality, despite differences in economic and geographical status. Multilateralism will encourage respect among countries.”
Marsudi cited the Palestinian issue as proof of the sincerity of the international community toward fulfilling their commitment to multilateralism.
Stating that supporting the multilateralism principles of the UN Charter and the international law are an inseparable part of the Indonesian foreign policy, Marsudi said that Indonesia would always be one of the countries that would protect and promote multilateralism.
The Alliance for Multilateralism is a forum to discuss and enhance joint efforts and international cooperation in maintaining and strengthening multilateral principles amid growing unilateralism tendencies and dynamic global challenges.
The forum was organized by the German and French foreign affairs ministers in the context of their joint Presidency of the UN Security Council.
The ministers of other countries, including Canada, Japan, England, Australia, Mexico, Argentina, India, Norway, Chile, Tunis, South Korea, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Nigeria were also present at the forum. (ant)
April