VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews, Jakarta: The Indonesian Embassy in Vientiane spares no effort to invite Indonesian investors as well as to promote Indonesian products in Laos. Overshadowed by Indonesia's export deficit to Laos which reached USD 141 million, the Indonesian Ambassador to Laos Endah Grata Werdaningtyas in the Ranah Diplomasi program broadcast on the Voice of Indonesia YouTube account on Tuesday (13/02) said that Indonesian companies and business people need to actively invest in Laos.  "Laos is still the least developed country, so the approach must be for us to invest there, and we should open and facilitate our various companies and business players to invest, and we will continue to try to pursue this so that investment continues to be encouraged to balance the trade deficit," said Grata Endah.

In an effort to achieve balance in the export-import balance between Indonesia and Laos, Grata Endah conveyed the potential for investment development and market penetration of consumer goods in Laos. "Perhaps we can trade off the deficit due to imports of potassium or other minerals by increasing trade in other sectors such as consumer goods. "I see huge potential for Indonesian consumer goods, prices can be competitive, and its taste and packaging are also not inferior," she said.

The Indonesian Embassy in Vientiane sees that the Laos market is still dominated by products from Thailand, Vietnam, and China. Seeing these conditions, Grata Endah initiated Pojok Indonesia, or Indonesian Corner in shopping centers as a first step in introducing Indonesian products to the people of Laos. "I took the time to walk to several marts, shops, and even markets, indeed the presence of Indonesian products was still very minimal, and many products from Thailand, Vietnam, and China dominated. So now I am promoting daily consumption products by forming what we call the Indonesia Corner at the Supermarket in Viantine. "There will be a special corner for goods from Indonesia," she concluded.

VOInews, Jakarta: Indonesia-Laos trade volume reached USD194.2 million (in 2022), experiencing triple exponential growth from 2021, namely USD45.5 million (Data from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2023). However, Indonesia experienced a deficit of USD 141 million. The Indonesian Ambassador to Laos, Grata Endah Werdaningtyas, said that the deficit occurred due to the import of potassium, which is the basic ingredient for fertilizer.

"In recent years we have experienced quite a large deficit due to potassium imports," said Grata Endah Werdaningtyas to Voice of Indonesia on Tuesday (13/02) in Jakarta.

However, Ambassador Grata Endah sees the trade deficit as a positive thing from a macroeconomic perspective. "I view this as positive if we look at the macroeconomic picture because the potassium we import is the main raw material for making fertilizer and we know how our domestic fertilizer needs are very high, and of course, it will help our fertilizer industry," she explained.

Meanwhile, according to Grata Endah, potassium obtained from Laos is much cheaper than similar mineral products imported from other countries. "From the results of our research and records, importing potassium from Laos is 30 percent cheaper than importing potassium from several other countries that are further away, for example, Canada. "So this in terms of helping our domestic industry, in my opinion, even though there is a deficit, the end product from fertilizer itself will help our industry," she said.

VOInews, Jakarta: The friendship between Indonesia and Sudan was laid on the spirit of the Asian-African Conference in Bandung in 1955. The Asian-African Conference inspired Sudan to gain its independence in 1956. Along the way, Sudan experienced dynamics, one of which resulted in the separation of South Sudan from the Republic of Sudan in 2011.

Currently, Sudan has been hit by civil war due to the struggle for power since April 2023. The Indonesian Ambassador to Sudan, Sunarko, in an interview on the Diplomatic Corner program broadcast on the Voice of Indonesia YouTube channel, on Tuesday (06/02) said that the armed conflict in Sudan has been ongoing since its first strike 9 months ago, in mid-April 2023.

According to Ambassador Sunarko, now is a good momentum to increase the number of Sudanese students in Indonesia as a form of moral support for brotherly countries that are being hit by conflict. As a friendly country, Indonesia will not remain silent regarding the situation in Sudan. "So this is a good momentum, the right momentum for the Indonesian Government to increase the number of Sudanese students who will be accepted for Indonesian scholarships, both in the Dharmasiswa program and the Developing Country Cooperation (KNB) program," said Ambassador Sunarko to Voice of Indonesia on the YouTube channel. (06/02).

In 2023, nine Sudanese students received Dharmasiswa scholarships and the number of recipients will continue to increase. Sunarko further conveyed several programs that have the potential to be developed, including collaboration between universities such as lecturers and experts exchanges, especially in the fields of Arabic, Islamic studies, sharia finance, and the halal industry which is currently growing in Sudan. According to Ambassador Sunarko, scientific fields in Indonesia that are of interest to Sudanese students include management, information technology, and architectural studies. Ambassador Sunarko saw the need to provide scholarships as a form of Indonesian solidarity with Sudan.

Educational cooperation between Indonesia and Sudan is quite prominent and grows continuously. Ambassador Sunarko said that before the conflict occurred, there were around 1,100 Indonesian citizens, 900 of whom were students. Previously, Sudan provided 60 scholarship quotas for Indonesian students annually, and it has been increased to 100 scholarships since 2015 for undergraduate to doctoral levels. A total of 95 percent of Indonesian students in Sudan are scholarship winners (Data Media Indonesia, April 2023). (DANIEL/DEVY)

Diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Morocco hold abundant historical romantic values. A number of facts regarding bilateral relations between the two friendly countries are always fascinating. The Indonesian Ambassador to Morocco, Hasrul Azwar, in the special interview which was broadcast on the Voice of Indonesia YouTube channel on Monday (29/01) conveyed a number of important notes that underlie the friendship between the two countries.

Firstly, Ambassador Hasrul Azwar said, long before the inauguration of diplomatic relations, Indonesia was known by Moroccan people since 1346 AD through the expedition of the great Moroccan explorer named Ibnu Battuta (d. 1369 AD). The prominent sailor wrote in his book entitled Rehla Ibnu Battuta's, about his historic journey from Morocco to Egypt, Syria, India, China until he landed in Aceh. In which Battuta described the existence of an Islamic Kingdom, namely Samudera Pasai, which worshiped the Almighty Allah. Today, we can find the tomb of famous Muslim sailors located in the city of Tangier, a seaside city across Spain. So, it can be concluded that Moroccans were the first to visit Indonesia at that time.

Secondly, Hasrul Azwar continued that President Soekarno enjoyed a noble position in the eyes of the Moroccan people. Sukarno is considered a world revolutionary figure who was able to gather the forces of Asia and Africa to stand up against colonialism, culminating in the Asian-African Conference (KAA) in 1955 in Bandung. A year later, on March 2, 1956, Morocco successfully gained its independence from France. President Soekarno welcomed Morocco's independence by paying a state visit to this North African country. His visit marks the first foreign head of state to come to the newly independent Morocco. The King of Morocco memorialized this historical visit by naming one of the main streets in the city of Rabat after the first President of Indonesia, namely Syari' al-Rais Ahmed Soekarno, now Rue Soekarno. In addition, Morocco also eternalizes its friendships to Indonesia through the naming of other streets after Indonesia, Jakarta and Bandung.

Thirdly, Hasrul Azwar added, the friendship between Indonesia and Morocco is also clearly visible in consular policies between the two countries. King Mohammed V presented a special complement for Soekarno's visit in the form of visa exemptions for Indonesian citizens visiting Morocco. Amazingly, this privilege is still valid today. It is known that Indonesian citizens can visit Morocco without a visa for a period of three months or 90 days.

Fourthly, according to Hasrul Azwar, bilateral relations between Indonesia and Morocco are supported by several nodes of cultural ties and international cooperation. Apart from the majority of people in both countries being Muslim, Indonesian and Moroccan Muslims are also adherents of Ahlussunnah wal Jama'ah (Sunni Muslims). Both Indonesia and Morocco are members of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and both countries are active in the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), a UNESCO-like organization initiated by Islamic countries.

Fifthly, Indonesia and Morocco have raised the status of bilateral relations to strategic partnership since December 2023. Ambassador Hasrul Azwar further explained that Indonesia's strategic position as one of the founders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is deemed significant in Morocco’s perspective. Since ASEAN's chairmanship in 2023, Indonesia fully supports Morocco as an ASEAN dialogue partner, on the other hand, Morocco has become an important hub for Indonesian products in efforts to penetrate African and European markets.