VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesia government will use its appointment   as the G20 Presidency and Chair of the Forum High Level Task Force on Economic Integration and leadership at the ASEAN Forum in 2023/ as a form of sustainable economic recovery. For this important and strategic role a meeting was held between the G20 Co-Sherpa Edi Prio Pambudi High Level Task Force on Economic Integration Lead Indonesia Rizal Affandi Lukman and Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Satvinder Singh. They formulated various joint steps in the context of synergy and collaboration between the G20 and ASEAN.

The trust given by ASEAN member countries to assume the leadership role of High-Level Task Force on Economic Integration this year must be utilized by Indonesia to the fullest. For this reason, Indonesia needs to prepare carefully and play this important role. This was stated by the Special Staff of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Affandi Lukman as HLTF-EI Lead Indonesia in his statement last Saturday.

Meanwhile, regarding the recovery of the COVID-19 pandemic as a top priority for the G20 and ASEAN, Co-Sherpa G20, Edi Prio Pambudi stated economic recovery must be felt equally by all countries in the region in line with the theme of this year's G20 Presidency "Recover Together Recover Stronger”.

According to Pambudi, synergies and collaborations from various international forums such as the G20 and ASEAN are becoming increasingly important, especially in accelerating vaccination programs, realizing smooth travel and mitigating future pandemics. He added as the most dynamic region in the world, ASEAN must be able to Respond well to various changes and emerging issues. For this reason, ASEAN continues to support digital transformation efforts in the region, One of them is through the ASEAN Agreement on E-commerce.

Pambudi also said ASEAN must be able to follow up on the concrete implementation plan of the industrial revolution in ASEAN. In this case it must be noted that the transition from conventional energy use to renewable energy by industry. Circular economy and sustainable development are also emerging issues that ASEAN has anticipated with the preparation of the Circular Economy Framework for ASEAN Economy Community. Dissemination of information to industry players and the general public is the key to implementing the adopted framework.

Regarding various initiatives carried out by Indonesia, Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community, Satvinder Singh conveyed his support for Indonesia as the G20 Presidency in 2022 and ASEAN Chair in 2023.

The Ministry of Investment, the Investment Coordinating Board and Lotte Chemical Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Facilitating the Acceleration of Investment Realization carried out in a hybrid manner in Seoul, South Korea, Friday (7/1). This Memorandum of Understanding reflects the strong commitment of Indonesia and South Korea in increasing investment and developing new partnerships in the ethylene sector. This was emphasized by Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to South Korea, Gandi Sulistiyanto Soeherman in his remarks while witnessing the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding. He hopes that the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding will strengthen cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea in other strategic fields.

In addition to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, there was also the signing of the Engineering, Procurement and Construction, EPC Agreement between PT Lotte Chemical Indonesia and the contractors. The signing was also witnessed by South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia and leaders of the Indonesian and South Korean private sectors. The new ethylene project or the so-called Line Project aims to build a large petrochemical complex. The complex is set to produce 1 million tons of ethylene with a sales target of US$2.06 billion per year.

On the same day, Ambassador Gandi Sulistiyanto in Seoul has fulfilled an invitation from the Minister of Trade of South Korea, Mr Yeo Han-Koo in order to discuss the potential for South Korea's cooperation with a number of partner countries to overcome the crisis of raw material supply shortages. At the meeting, apart from the Indonesian Ambassador, there were also ambassadors from 9 other key global supply chain actors, including Brazil, Chile, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Indonesian Ministry of Health reported that until Sunday, January 9, 2022, the number of infection cases with the Omicron Covid-19 variant in Indonesia had increased to 414 people. There are additional cases of 75 people. Of these, 31 people have cases of local transmission. The rest are from  travelers from  foreign countries.

These data indicate that Omicron transmission in Indonesia is still increasing. In total, 99% of Omicron cases have mild or no symptoms. They are mostly travelers who came from Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Spokesperson for Vaccination of the Ministry of Health, dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi in her statement said that several areas that experienced an increase in cases were Jakarta, West Java and North Sulawesi. As of January 5, Indonesia was in the third position of the highest Omicron cases in Southeast Asia after Singapore and Thailand. Singapore still occupies the top position with 2,251 cases detected, while Thailand has 2062 cases.

These facts are certainly quite worrying. Amid the government's incessant call for Indonesian citizens not to travel abroad, there are still those who go abroad, giving rise to new cases in Indonesia.

The government has also adjusted the rules for foreign travelers who will enter Indonesia. Recently, the Government has issued a Circular regarding Health Protocols for Overseas Travel, Entry Points, Quarantine Places and Obligation for Health Tests, such as RT-PCR for Indonesian Citizens Traveling Overseas.

Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito through the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel said that one of the things that is continuously monitored and evaluated is regulations for foreign travelers. Naturally, travel between countries opens up opportunities for case imports, especially if they are not controlled properly.

It is a challenge for the government and the people of Indonesia to control Covid 19, which is currently tending to rise, after sloping down over the last few months. Thereby, the best way is to continue to implement health protocols as an easy, inexpensive and effective pandemic control strategy in preventing transmission. In addition to being asked to obey wearing masks, washing hands and maintaining distance, the public are also asked to play an active role in preventing the entry of more Omicron variants. The trick is not to travel abroad unless it is very urgent. For the people who return to Indonesia, they should strictly adhere to the rules, including the applicable quarantine policy.

Pasambahan dance is one of the traditional dances  of Minangkabau that develops in many regions in the province of West Sumatra. The dance is performed at the welcoming ceremony as a greeting dance and an expression of respect to the guests of honor. Besides, the Pasambahan dance is also often performed at weddings to welcome the bride and groom. When the guests of honor or the bride and groom enter the room, the dancers usually carry a nobility umbrella and cover the guests or brides to their seat as a sign of respect.

Dancers of Pasambahan dance  are generally women. They are colorfully dressed with accessories and headdresses. They also dance gracefully following the accompaniment of traditional Minangkabau musical instruments, namely Talempong and Gendang. Talempong is a traditional percussion of typical instrument of the Minangkabau tribe. It is made of brass or wood. The shape is a circle with a diameter of 15 to 17.5 centimeters; there is a hole at the bottom while at the top, there is a protruding circle with a diameter of five centimeters as a place to hit.

After the Pasambahan dance is performed, the program continues with the presentation of betel leaves in a carano, a kind of tray filled with betel leaves to the guests. At the time of the wedding ceremony, the betel leaf treats are given to the parents of the groom as a representative of the entourage. The betel leaf in the carano is also usually served to the parents of the bride and groom. This is a symbol of the hospitality of the Minang people and also a symbol that the Minang people accept and want to establish friendships with guests who come. Pasambahan dance used to be an exclusive dance as a welcoming dance. However, now its function has changed. The dance is now used not only to welcome the guests, but also to entertain the present people.