VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews, Jakarta: Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque, Nasaruddin Umar, conveyed the readiness of the Istiqlal Mosque to welcome worshipers during the month of Ramadan.

Nasaruddin told reporters on Sunday (10/3) that his party had prepared various facilities such as free drinking water and friendly facilities for pilgrims with disabilities.

"We facilitate drinking water. We have a factory for free drinking water, so if you go to Istiqlal you don't need to bring drinking water because we have a drinking water factory. And it's free for the whole community. Istiqlal is very friendly to disabled people, we facilitate it, and we facilitate the blind. Even in the first row, there is a separate ablution, lift, and wheelchair," said the grand imam.

Nasaruddin also said that not only does Istiqlal Mosque provide facilities for people with disabilities, but it also provides a complete children's play area to support parents who bring children to feel comfortable in worship.

Apart from that, during Ramadan, the mosque will hold various events such as featuring international Quran reciters and muezzins with their melodious voices to give the call to prayer from the mosque.

The mosque has 160 CCTVs to detect identity from a person's face. Istiqlal Mosque is the largest mosque in Southeast Asia and one of the largest in the world, with a maximum capacity of about 200,000. (VOI/Ranov/RAMA/AHM/)

VOI, Jakarta: Minister of Trade and Industry of Timor-Leste, Filipus Nino Pereira attended a business meeting in Jakarta on Sunday, held by the Timor-Leste Embassy in Jakarta. In front of Indonesian entrepreneurs, Pereira invited Indonesian entrepreneurs to invest capital in the country.

Pereira said that Timor-Leste has a strong amount of capital to be an investment option considering that Timor-Leste is already a member of the World Trade Organization - WTO and is in the process of becoming a full member of ASEAN.

"Now we need real cooperation and opportunities that already exist in Timor-Leste in tourism, trade, industry, fisheries, animal husbandry, and plantations. These are enormous potentials that currently have not been exploited optimally. Through this business meeting, we want to invite Indonesian entrepreneurs to see business potential in Timor-Leste," said the minister.

Nino Pereira further explained that the Timor-Leste government has two big agendas to attract foreign investment: creating an industrial park dedicated to industrial development and a free trade zone.

According to him, the government is still analyzing these agendas, subject to Timor Leste's readiness and opportunities to grow trade activities in the country's surrounding region. (VOI/Andy/Rama/AHM)

VOInews, Jakarta: Indonesian Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Saiful Rachmat Dasuki welcomed the Iftar and Date Prize Program initiated by the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud through the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance.

At the program's launch in Jakarta on Sunday (10/3), Dasuki said the program as "a form of concern from the Honorable King, King Salman of Saudi Arabia for all Muslims worldwide, including Indonesia; as a form of social bond towards all Muslims in the world"

Dasuki explained Saudi Arabia has sent Al-Qur'an, dates, and education packages to the National Zakat Agency - Baznas for distribution.

Meanwhile, Head of Religious Attache of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta, Syech Ahmed Al-Hazmi explained that in this program, King Salman gave 20 tons of dates, 50,000 copies of Al-Qur'an, and about 150,000 boxes of food for breaking the fast.

He explained that the program would be started during Ramadan by distributing the package in Jakarta, Sulawesi, Sumatra, and other regions in Indonesia. (VOI/Ranov/Rama/AHM).