VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews, Jakarta: The Indonesian government, in this case the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, continues to oversee several important matters related to international economic cooperation. One of them is Indonesia's accession process to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Indonesia became the first Southeast Asian country to become an OECD accession country, after the approval of Indonesia's Accession Roadmap which was officially handed over at the OECD Ministerial Meeting (PTM) on 2-3 May 2024. Currently, there are 7 OECD accession countries, namely Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Croatia, Peru and Romania.

After reaching the stage of adopting the OECD roadmap, the next step that will be taken by the Government is the self-assessment process, and the preparation of an initial memorandum which is planned to be completed within the next 250 days. For the national coordination process, the President of Indonesia has issued Presidential Decree Number 17 of 2024 on the OECD National Team. The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs is appointed as the Chairman of the Implementation Team with the Vice Chairmen being the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Finance.

‘The government has taken strategic steps related to OECD accession, to commit to becoming an OECD member within the next three years, including the integration of OECD accession in the RPJPN and RPJMN to the plan to establish a Project Management Office (PMO) to support the OECD National Team,’ said Deputy for Coordination of International Economic Cooperation Edi Prio Pambudi, in a Media Briefing to journalists at the Media Centre of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs Jakarta, Thursday (30/5).

After the OECD PTM, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann visited Indonesia on 28-29 May 2024. During the visit, the OECD Secretary-General met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, 2024-2029 President-Elect Prabowo Subianto, the Indonesian Parliament, the OECD National Team, and relevant stakeholders such as labour organisations, civil society, business representatives, academics, and others.

‘By becoming a member of the OECD, our access to the markets of other OECD member countries will be more open and will encourage investment as well. There is already a national team consisting of various stakeholders, and even later, media friends will also be involved in terms of press freedom. As a big nation, we must be united to achieve this,’ said Deputy Edi.

Furthermore, the OECD will also help with the development of the semiconductor ecosystem. Indonesia is one of the countries that will be reviewed by the U.S. Department of State in collaboration with the OECD. It is expected that from the results of the review, Indonesia can contribute to strengthening the global semiconductor supply chain through the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund mechanism and increase foreign investment into Indonesia in the semiconductor sector. The review process is expected to last for 6-8 months and the OECD Semiconductor Team is planning to come to Indonesia in early-mid 2024 to complete a fact-finding mission for the review of Indonesia's semiconductor industry.

‘Semiconductors are important as we have continued to negotiate since a long time ago, and there is quite fierce competition in the semiconductor world today. Now the United States still holds many standards for it, for example for smartphone production. You can imagine that if we don't manage that, we will be left far behind. Here we have built a semiconductor ecosystem involving ambassadors, entrepreneurs, and others, because this is a broad industry so we have to know where to start,’ Deputy Edi concluded.

Source: Indonesian Coordinating Minister of Economic

VOInews, Jakarta: In order to increase the capacity of local MSMEs in the export market, the Malang Customs Office pioneered the Export Clinic programme. The programme is an assistance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have export potential in their working areas so that they can go international.

Malang Customs Extension and Information Services Section Head Dwi Prasetyo Rini revealed that the Export Clinic is a programme initiated by Customs to assist entrepreneurs who wish to carry out export activities. The Export Clinic is a consultation medium between service users and Customs employees for export activities. "In addition to providing socialisation on export procedures, we also coordinate with relevant ministries or institutions and regional agencies to support the empowerment of MSMEs," said Dwi, quoted from the beacukai.go.id page in Jakarta, Thursday (23/5/2024).

Dwi revealed that during the week, Malang Customs intensively assisted MSME players in the Greater Malang area. The assistance team visited the Sustainable Food Innovation MSME on Wednesday (15/5) and CV Kusuma Wijaya Plants on Friday (17/5). "In addition to conducting visits to MSME players, we also fulfilled the invitation of the Malang City Cooperative Industry and Trade Office to provide export socialisation for MSMEs," said Dwi.

The export socialisation was held at Hotel Montana, Malang, on Tuesday (21/05). In the socialisation entitled "Trade Mission for Leading Export Products", Malang Customs explained the potential and procedures for starting exports for MSMEs.

VOInews, Jakarta: the arrival of Indonesian hajj pilgrims in wave I entered the last day. The Integrated Hajj Information and Computerisation System (Siskohat) of the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) recorded that 89,114 Indonesian pilgrims landed at Amir Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz Airport (AMAA) in Madinah.

They are members of 229 flight groups (kloter). The arrival phase of the first batch of hajj pilgrims took place on 12 May 2024. This phase will end on 24 May 2024. On the same day, the second batch of Indonesian pilgrims will land at King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAAIA) Jeddah. "Some of the Daker Bandara officers today (Thursday) departed for Jeddah. They will prepare to welcome hajj pilgrims in the arrival phase of the second wave which will take place from 24 May to 10 June 2024," said Daker Airport Head Abdillah in Madinah, through a written statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs received by Indonesia Window here on Thursday (23/5/2024).

Meanwhile, some officers are still in Madinah to welcome the arrival of the last batch in the first phase. One of the Wukala leaders in the Madinah Airport Fasttrack lane, Abdullah Ishaq Al Hosah as Wukala Supervisor, felt greatly helped by the presence of Indonesian Hajj officers. "The presence of Indonesian Hajj officers at the airport is very much needed because it really helps us in our work. We can work faster because the officers help direct the pilgrims from the exit to the bus," said Abdullah.

Abdullah said he was impressed with the tenacity of the hajj officers in carrying out their duties. "Indonesian hajj officers are very compact in their work. They are also friendly and polite," Abdullah praised the Indonesian Hajj officers.

Abdullah also gave special praise to the Indonesian pilgrims. According to him, Indonesian pilgrims are easy to manage. "If all pilgrims were like the Indonesian pilgrims, we would be very comfortable at work," said Abdullah.

At the end of the chat, Abdullah invited Indonesian Hajj officers to work together to serve the guests of Allah. "We really appreciate the Indonesian Hajj officers. May we remain united in working together to serve the guests of Allah as well as possible. May Allah bless the Indonesian pilgrims and hajj officers," he concluded.

Before leaving for Jeddah, the Indonesian Hajj officers captured the moment with a photo with the Wukala officers and airport workers (umal). This reflects the good relationship between the two in welcoming the arrival of the congregation as well as supporting the smooth running of the task in the return phase later.

VOInews, Jakarta: The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) anticipates an increase in community mobility during the 2024 Vesak Day holiday. This anticipation is done by improving services and supervision, both in land, sea, air and rail transport.

"Ahead of the Vesak long holiday, from 23 to 26 May 2024, the Ministry of Transportation has prepared various efforts to ensure that public mobility can run smoothly, safely, comfortably and safely," said Ministry of Transportation Spokesperson Adita Irawati in Jakarta, Wednesday (22/5/2024).

As quoted from a written statement received on Wednesday (22/5/2024), the Ministry of Transport ensures the operation of transport by conducting vehicle safety checks or inspections (ramp checks). "In air transport, the Directorate of Air Transport directly conducts ramp checks at Soekarno Hatta Airport and Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport. In addition, ramp checks are also carried out by the Airport Authority in each region," wrote the Ministry of Transportation.

Furthermore, on land transport, checks are carried out on public buses and tourism buses. "The Ministry of Transport in coordination with the Korlantas Polri and the Regency / City Transportation Office has made efforts to curb the operation of public buses and tourism buses by prioritising road safety aspects. Meanwhile, users of land public transport services are encouraged to check the licence and roadworthiness of the fleet through the Mitra Darat application and spionam.dephub.go.id," he continued.

Safety and operational feasibility checks are also carried out on train and ship transportation. The Directorate General of Sea Transportation also increased supervision at ports throughout Indonesia through the Harbour Master and Port Authority (KSOP) Office, especially at tourist ports.

In addition, the Ministry has coordinated with stakeholders and transport operators to improve supervision and services at passenger density points, both at terminals, stations, airports and ports. "We continue to coordinate with operators of transportation facilities and infrastructure to maximise services to passengers. Officers at terminals, airports, stations and harbours will be increased, especially in areas that are congested and have the potential for long queues," Adita added.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Transport urges the public to always comply with applicable regulations, report if they find a problematic fleet, and anticipate the potential for bad weather during the trip.