VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

To utilize the export opportunity of Indonesian product to Norway, Indonesian Ambassador to Norway,  Todung Mulya Lubis, accompanied by the Economic Function of the Indonesian Embassy in Oslo visited Norway’s importer company, Eco Deco Design on Friday (22/02/2019). The importer company has marketed Indonesian handicraft products in Norway and Nordic countries, especially art shops, hotel, restaurant, interior-designer and many others. The Indonesian Ambassador hopedIndonesian craftsmen/exporters of handy craft products in could actively establish direct communication with importers in Norway.

State-Own Enterprise, Perinus signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FTI Japan Co.Ltd. on the sidelines of Osaka Seafood Show 2019. More than 2,600 companies throughout Japan participated in event, and 10,000 visitors was expected to attend the exhibition. The MoU which was signed by leaders of the two companies namely Executive Director of Perinus, Dendi Anggi Gumilang and CEO of FTI Japan Co. Ltd., Kentaro Narumi will be implemented for one year. Through the MoU, Perinus will export Slice Tuna products to Japan as many as 240 tons or worth US 3,800,000 dollars. The Executive Director of Perinus viewed Osaka Seafood Show as the event that offered big opportunity to market Indonesian fishery product, as well as to introduce State-own Enterprises of the fishery to the world.

The last information of the Diplomatic Corner segment is from Seoul. Indonesian Embassy in Seoul held an Appreciation and Networking Night by inviting around 40 the main actors driving South Korea's tourism, beginning from chairman, director and members of South Korea Tourism Association, KATA. Indonesia’s Stateowned Enterprise in South Korea and also local mass media attended the event which introduced new tourism destination at the Indonesian embassy’s guesthouse. Social and Cultural Information of Indonesian Embassy in Seoul, Purno Widodo, on Tuesday (26/2) said networking opportunity is utilized by them and Garuda Indonesia Seoul to promote again Bali and Lombok, where number of tourists from the country decrease. Meanwhile, President of Korea Association of Travel Agents (KATA), Yang Moo Seung conveyed that he realizes Indonesian tourism potential is very big, but number of visit is still not optimal yet and not directly proportional to the potential that exists.

The entourage of Indonesian trade mission to India in a bid to attend meeting and the 4th exhibition of the India-ASEAN 2019 from 21-23 February 2019 brought positive outcome for the country's economy. Kompas Newspaper on Monday (Feb 25) reported that besides giving opportunity to reduce the customs tariff for the derivative products of crude palm oil, the trade mission succeeded at helping Indonesia's products penetrate the Indian market.The Indian Government would like to reduce customs tariff from 50-45% for the derivative products of crude palm oil, which is the same as the one applied for Malaysia's products. It is one of the points of the Indonesian trade mission delegates led by Indonesian Trade Minister, Enggartiasto Lukita.A number of Indonesian enterprises receive the opportunity to expand their produts to India. The products which can be exported comprise not only the derivative products of crude palm oil but also jewelry, food and beverages, as well as textile products.Director General of the National Export Development at the Indonesian Trade Minister, Arlinda said that the Indian businesspeople also explore the opportunity of purchasing rubber products, spices, and paper from Indonesia. There were at least five Indian businesspeople who attended the business exploration held on the sidlines of the India ASEAN Meeting and Expo to explore the opportunity of Indonesia's rubber commodity.Minister Enggartiasto reported to journalists that the demand of rubber has increased in Indonesia which is the same as their need over vegetable oil. According to Minister Enggartiasto, most of the time, India has always imported rubber from Singapore. However, the rubber itself came from Indonesia.Enggartiasto affirmed the importance of partnership and collaborative principles in trade cooperation. Enggartiasto viewed India as the 4th biggest trade partner of Indonesia but trade is not the matter of rank, benefits, and deficit. The true essence of trade partnership is how trade can support the development and prosperity of the society in both participating countries.The total trade value between Indonesia and India reached US$ 18.7 billion From the trade, Indonesia gained a surplus of US$ 8.7 billion. Meanwhile, 60% of Indonesia's total exports is composed from crude palm oil.

Tsunami which struck Sunda Strait in the end of December 2018 has left an inspiring story about a persistent Indonesian woman named Omah Akromah who contributes to helping the victims of the disaster.Omah Akromah keeps helping hundreds of people who survive from the disaster to get food supplies and other demands although many refugee camps have been closed. Omah who was born in Pandeglang on May the 10th, 1955 has plenty of experiences in joining social activities. In addition to helping the victims of tsunami in Sunda Strait, Omah has contributed to helping Indonesian children who live below the poverty line gain their rights of receiving proper education through package A, B, C so that these children can pursue their education.As a disaster volunteer, every morning Omah Akromah works at Majlis Taklim Al Ikhlas Labuan, Pandeglang. There, hundreds of people have been waiting for her. These people usually wait for food staples provided by donors to be distributed. According to Omah, the distribution of food supplies has been the greatest challenge because refugees often fight for the staple food. Therefore, Omah usually calls their names one by one so that the food can be distributed fairly and effectively. It is also the method used by Omah to find out the latest number of the refugees.In addition to distributing staple food, Omah also identifies the stock of the food supplies and arranges the boxes of the foods such as rice, instant noodles, toothpaste, and mineral water. Omah devotes her time from morning to evening to make sure the logistics can be distributed successfully to all refugees. Omah Akromah always ensures that the rights of the refugees over food supplies, hygine, and health can be adequately fulfilled.Majlis Taklim Al Ikhlas is the only place that shelters refugees. Currently, there are 235 refugees there. The building of Majlis Taklim Al Ikhlas is the only temporary shelter of the tsunami victims in Pandeglang. Pandeglang is the greatest area affected by the tsunami. The number of refugees reached 33,000 people and they were spread in 50 locations. As time elapses, the number of the refugees leaving Majlis Taklim Al Ikhlas, the only sheltering inhabited by the refugees, has been dropped The refugees who live in the area come not only from coastal area but also from other sub-districts in Pandeglang.Omah believes that refugee camp is the second home for the refugees. Beside coordinating the food supplies for the refugees, Omah also contributes to improving the quality of infratructures for the refugees for example toilet. When a new refugee arrives at the camp, Omah will provide them with mat, foods, blanket, and medications. Furthermore, Omah also attempts to maintain the mental and emotional health of the refugees by establishing programs and activities which can foster their potentials and help them cope with their trauma.In the future, Omah is committed to keep helping the refugees. Though she has to dedicate most of her time for the refugees, she never complains and she is always enthusiastic of being able to help others. The 63 year old woman believes that as long as we still have the opportunity to live, we should not stop contributing for other people.

Sharm el-Sheikh, a beautiful tourist city in the Red Sea region, in Egypt, Saturday and Sunday (24-25 February 2019), hosts a High-Level Conference between Arab League member countries and the European Union. This became the first summit of the two regions. Qatar, which at the last  Arab League summit was not present, this time attended with its representatives who sat in the Secretariat in Cairo. One reason why the Arab League held  this summit iwas the desire for the European Union to play a greater role in the Middle East region. Moreover, the United States slowly began to reduce its role. Palestinians at the summit specifically called on the Arab League and the European Union to cooperate in holding an international peace conference to revive the Israeli Palestinian negotiations which have stalled  since 2014. Palestinians object to the single role of the United States in mediating its problems with Israel especially since Washington moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Arab League and the European Union agree on the Palestinian issue, namely the two-state solution according to the UN resolution. On the other hand, the European Union seems to be displeased if the vacant role left by the United States is filled with other major influences, namely Russia and China. So in his closing speech European Council President Donald Tusk expressed the need for cooperation and not to let the Middle East region be under global power far from the region. In fact, Russia has been present strong enough with naval and air bases in Syria. While China does not enter from the military side, but from investment cooperation planted in Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It is indeed hard for the European Union to immediately implement plans in the declaration because its position has been left behind. But the influence of the European Union can be strengthened because Arab countries open doors in the region. Now, the Summit is over, the Declaration has been signed. Remain action must be taken by the two regional organizations so that the declaration is not just a signed paper.