VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The success of Mercado Culinário Indonésio or the Indonesian Culinary Market in June 2022 made the Indonesian Embassy in Lisbon to organize Mercado Culinário Indonésio for the second time. This activity was held in October 2022. This event was held in the middle of autumn in Portugal and to fulfill the longing of the Indonesian diasporas, and the Portuguese community for Indonesian cuisine. This event aims to promote the richness of Indonesian culinary and products in Portugal.

This activity is in accordance with the mission of Indonesian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Portugal, Mr. Rudy Alfonso to promote a positive image of Indonesia. He was happy that many Portuguese people like Indonesian cuisine. He hopes that more Indonesian diasporas will open restaurants in Portugal.

Around 500 people flocked to the backyard of the Indonesian Embassy in Lisbon and were busy to choose Indonesian snacks. There were about 40 types of food sold, ranging from the favourite menu of chicken satay, fried rice, fried noodles, meatballs, chicken porridge, rendang, siomay, yellow rice, woku chicken, various spring rolls, to various fried foods and market snacks.

Besides serving culinary, the Indonesian Embassy in Lisbon accepted the participation of the Travelutions travel agency stand, which provided tour packages to Indonesia. In addition, Emirates as one of the international airlines that has flight routes (with one transit) from Lisbon - Jakarta and Lisbon - Bali, also participates in Mercado Culinário Indonésio.

If visitors want to try Indonesian reflexology, they can also enjoy massage services at the Swans Spa & Message stand for ten minutes.

This event is also a cultural promotion, such as traditional music and dance. One of the music performed was the song 'Indonesia Pusaka', sung by João Oliveira, an alumni of the BSBI scholarship and a participant in the Indonesian language class organized by the Indonesian Embassy. In addition, visitors were also entertained by the strains of the Balinese Gender tone game by Vanessa, an alumnus of Darmasiswa ISI Denpasar.

Seeing the interest from visitors, which even increased in number compared to the previous Mercado event, the Indonesian Embassy is optimistic that Mercado Culinário Indonésio will be well received by the people in Portugal.

The United States hosted the Summit of the US and Pacific Island nations late last September. The two-day summit (September 28-29) resulted in a joint declaration between the United States and representatives from 14 Pacific Islands countries. Its contents cover various issues, including practicing sustainable development, tackling climate change, and maintaining the security of the Pacific region and its trade sector.

Solomon Islands, one of the Pacific Island countries despite previously showing refusal, finally signed the document.

The country's refusal was due to a point in the draft declaration which urged the Pacific Islands countries to take side with either the United States or China, which are in conflict in the region. Solomon Islands Foreign Minister, Jeremiah Manele on Tuesday (04/10) said he objected to the draft agreement with the United States-Pacific Partnership because he had to choose one side (the United States or China). In fact, according to Minister Manele, his country is neutral, not in a position to choose one side.

However, after going through a series of negotiations, the United States and the Pacific Island countries reached a point of agreement. Thus, the Solomon Islands finally signed the final declaration of the joint agreement last week.

Efforts to reach common ground are inseparable from the success of the Solomon Islands government's diplomatic strategies. It was successful in convincing the United States and the Western Allies that the Pacific was not an area of confrontation. Countries in the Pacific region including the Solomon Islands welcome the establishment of close relations not only with the United States, but also with other countries, including China.

The success of the Solomon Islands in negotiations regarding uneasy matters with the US needs to be appreciated. The Solomon Islands government has shown that as a sovereign state, Solomon Islands has the right to establish cooperation with any country it wishes. There should not be any country that suppresses and compels or restricts other countries. Pressure and coercion actually damage peace, especially in the Pacific Islands Region.

The Indonesian Embassy in Cairo held a business forum with Egyptian businesspeople in Alexandria, Monday (3/10) to support the Trade Expo Indonesia this October 2022. In the meeting, the Indonesian Ambassador for Egypt Lutfi Rauf invited Egyptian businesspeople to visit Trade Expo Indonesia, to see directly Indonesian top products as well as tourism sector investment prospects and potential. Ambassador Lutfi Rauf said the Trade Expo Indonesia can be used as an effort to increase trade cooperation of the two countries. He also highlighted the Indonesia-Egypt trade relations in the last 75 years that has reached a dynamic level and not competing but supporting and complementing each other. In the Q and A session, the Head of Egyptian Business and Investor Federation Alaa El-Isawy welcomed the exhibition and was committed to supporting spreading the promotion programs of trade, tourism , and investment by Indonesia to his members. Meanwhile, an Egyptian businessman Adel Hommos hoped to get recommendations on Indonesian companies that can invest in Egypt, to explore cooperation in coconut shell charcoal briquette, since the raw material is only available in Indonesia. Besides, businessmen in soap and cosmetics Gehane Nasser wished for support from the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo to facilitate a meeting with facial care products and cosmetics exporters from Indonesia.

Trade Attache of Indonesian Embassy in Cairo Irman Adi Purwanto Moefthi, said the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo would give assistance for the Egyptian businessmen since their arrival to the Trade Expo Indonesia. He hoped the buyers would use various moments such as Business Forum, Business Matching, and Trade Contact during the Trade Expo Indonesia 2022. The business forum was joined by more than 40 businessmen from Alexandria and other provinces in Egypt such as Dakahlia, Beni Suef and Cairo. Trade Expo Indonesia will be held offline at ICE BSD, Banten on October 19-23 2022 and online on October 19 until December 19 2022.

The Indonesian Embassy in Sofia promoted Indonesian tourism and culture in Bulgaria through the exhibition of pictures at the Sofia City bus stop. The promotion has started since September 20, 2022; the bus stop at Eagle Bridge and South Park, Sofia City has a new look as part of the art project #Art4diplomacy. The embassy in its statement on Thursday (6/10) stated that both shelters are wrapped in bright colors which display pictures of tourism attractions and Indonesian typical food.

Indonesian Ambassador to Bulgaria, Iwan Bogananta pointed out that  art and culture are powerful diplomatic tools. Thereby, the Indonesian Embassy in Sofia is always active in projects related to art and culture and uses them in Indonesia's diplomatic efforts abroad. Ambassador Iwan also affirmed  that  diplomacy wrapped in art and culture will be more efficiently accepted by the local people  and  also able to attract leaders.

Moreover, the Ambassador further explained that the exhibition and promotion of Indonesian cultural arts in public spaces like what the Indonesian Embassy in Sofia does at bus stops in Bulgaria are very effective because of involving the general public and being able to disseminate information more broadly. Then, in the context of promoting Indonesia's activities, Ambassador Iwan and his family traveled around Sofia City by using public transportation on weekends to enjoy the #Art4Diplomacy art project.

Ambassador Iwan specifically stopped at the Eagle Bridge bus stop to explain the promotion of Indonesia and the meaning contained in the 3 pictures displayed at the bus stop to the local residents. The three pictures displayed have gone through a curation process and carried a special message for the local community.

The first picture is Rendang which is a typical food of Indonesian  from West Sumatra and it is recognized as an intangible cultural heritage and rated as the world's best food according to a number of multinational cable news channels. The second picture is "10 New Balis", which are ten tourism destinations offered by Indonesia for foreign tourists. These destinations can be a list of tourism attractions to visit for potential tourists. The third picture is chosen to promote Indonesia's presidency at the G20 this year on which the G20 high-level conference will be held in Bali in November.