VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President of Timor Leste, Jose Ramos-Horta was impressed by the progress of the tourism sector of East Nusa Tenggara Province (NTT) which is growing rapidly. He conveyed this during a meeting with Governor of East Nusa Tenggara, Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat in Labuan Bajo, Friday (22/ 7).

As reported by Antara News Agency on Saturday (23/7), President Ramos Horta said that Labuan Bajo's extraordinary tourism has a world-class quality. He also remarked that as a neighbouring country to Indonesia, he was proud of the progress of tourism in East Nusa Tenggara, especially in Labuan Bajo. He added that Labuan Bajo tourism, the leading destination of the Komodo National Park, is increasingly being managed rapidly with environmental conditions on land and sea which are getting cleaner. In addition, the tourism services are well maintained so that these attract tourists’ visits.

Responding to this, Governor Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat said that the progress of tourism in East Nusa Tenggara, especially in Labuan Bajo, was the result of good synergy between the provincial government and the central government. He also said that the local government and the central government have cooperated well to support investors who entered and developed the East Nusa Tenggara tourism sector.

Governor Laiskodat also thanked President Joko Widodo for the support of tourism development in Labuan Bajo as a super-premium tourism area. According to Governor Laiskodat, the development of the tourism area has a positive impact and has benefits for the region and the community in East Nusa Tenggara.

Professor of the Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Edi Santosa is optimistic that the Food Estate program will be able to support Indonesia to become a global food barn as the Ministry of Agriculture aspires to.  He said, the Indonesian government is trying to make Indonesia a world food storage barn by 2045.

Quoting the Antara News Agency report, Edi Santosa in his statement said, this is very likely to be realized, but Indonesia must have sincerity and seriousness to make it come true. According to Edi, Food Estate will maintain food security. Therefore, this program is expected to have high competitiveness.He also remarked that food estates must be built with competitiveness so that later, it will support Indonesia's ideals as the world's food barn.

The Indonesian government has established food estate areas in two provinces, namely Central Kalimantan, exactly in Pulang Pisau and regencies of Kapuas, and Humbang Hasundutan, North Sumatra and East Nusa Tenggara Regencies. In addition, the government also plans to expand the food estate program to South Sumatra Province, and Papua.

Meanwhile, Head of the National Mainstay Farmers and Fishermen Contact (KTNA), Yadi Sofyan Noor stated that the development of the Food Estate in Central Kalimantan could make Indonesia one of the strongest countries in the world.

According to Yadi Sofyan Noor, the program developed by the Ministry of Agriculture has shown maximal yield progress. Based on the data he has collected, the average land shrinkage in Indonesia reaches 150,000 hectares per year. While the data for paddy field is fewer than 100,000 hectares, exact ly 60,000 per year. However, with the existence of a food estate, rice field printing grows more quickly and more optimally.

President Joko Widodo said that the development of the Food Estate is the government's effort to realize national food security, as an anticipatory step in facing a food crisis.

The concept of developing a food estate is carried out in an integrated manner, including agriculture, plantations, and even livestock in an area.

Pemalang regency belongs to Central Java Province. The capital city of Pemalang regency is Pemalang. It has one of the tourism destinations namely Bengkawah waterfall which has become one of the unique tourism destinations until now. It is widely visited because of its instagrammable spot. Bengkawah waterfall has a water source which comes from the Kluweh river. The location of the Bengkawah waterfall is precisely located on Sikasur Simpur road, in Sikasur village, Randudongkal district, Pemalang Regency, Central Java.

The expanse of forest which surrounds the Bengkawah waterfall is a very exotic natural scenery. It makes the location of the Bengkawah waterfall highly recommended to visit, particularly for lovers of natural tourism. When you are here, you will also find a lot of animals, such as monkeys going in and out. The water in the Bengkawah waterfall is famous for its clarity and has never experienced a period of drought; the river water continuously flows through the rocks and flows into a natural pool at the bottom of the Bengkawah waterfall which has depth around 3 meters.

Bengkawah waterfall is also often said as the Twin waterfall, because there are two streams of water separated by rocks. The waterfall is about 20 meters high. Despite the freshness of the water being very tempting, visitors are recommended not to swim at the location since the water flow is quite heavy and dangerous. Therefore, most visitors enjoy the atmosphere by only playing in the water on the edge of the pond and also enjoying the view by taking photos. Even, many visitors may camp around the waterfall.

To visit the tourism location of Bengkawah Waterfall, you can use a private vehicle or public transportation. For you who take public transportation, such as buses and other vehicles, you can stop at Randudongkal District and afterwards, please continue by using a taxi motorbike.  You don't need to worry to have a vacation here because the manager of the waterfall has provided quite complete facilities, such as food courts, rest area and other facilities. 

Indonesia and Timor-Leste have agreed to keep increasing the trade value in line with the good relations of both countries. That was stated by President Joko Widodo after meeting with Timor-Leste President, Jose Ramos-Horta at the Bogor Palace in West Java (19/07). As quoted from Antara news agency, President Joko Widodo said that the discussion on economic cooperation was the focus of the meeting. He also stated that considering the always-positive trade relations growth trend, the Indonesian government believes that both countries' trade value can keep increasing. 

President Joko Widodo also extended the commitment of Indonesian state-owned companies and private sectors in participating in the development in Timor-Leste, including in infrastructure. He encouraged the two nations to complete the bilateral investment treaty. President Joko Widodo added that the investment value of Indonesia in Timor Leste reached US$818 millions in banking, oil and gas, and telecommunication sectors. The president further explained that besides economic cooperation, the two states will also discuss issues on border negotiation issues settlement. He affirmed the importance of the two countries to immediately settle the two remaining land border segments.

At the same occasion, President Jose Ramos Horta said he was grateful for Indonesia's support in Timor Leste's development in various sectors. He remarked that Timor Leste and Indonesia have the commitment to continue the 20-year good relations between the two countries. He hopes that both countries' relations in trade and economy can keep growing. In the bilateral meeting of Indonesian and Timor-Leste leaders, four Memoranda of Understanding were signed namely in the agriculture sector, cross-border bus mobility, standardization and metrology, as well as technical cooperation in trade.