VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan as Indonesia's Special Envoy, met Chinese Foreign Minister and member of the State Council Wang Yi, and discussed a number of bilateral cooperation related matters including COVID-19 handling strategies.

Minister Pandjaitan went to Yunan, China on October 9 and 10 after being invited by Minister Wang Yi, where both Ministers had further discussions on the topics of trade and investment, health, education and research, vaccine, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and cultural as well as people to people exchange.

In a statement received here, Sunday, Minister Pandjaitan explained that the Chinese government will follow up Indonesia's appeal for elevated market access for tropical fruits, fisheries product and seafood, swallow birds' nest and increased imports of Indonesian coal.

Minister Wang Yi will also push for the involvement of Chinese higher education institutions in the development of Conservation, Research, and Innovation Center for China-Indonesia Herbal Medicines in Humbang Hasudutan, North Sumatra.

"This center can be very rich with more than 30,000 species of herbs. I hope the support from Zhejiang University, Yunnan University, and the Center for Excellence in Medicinal Plants and Related Industries," Minister Pandjaitan said.

The "Two Countries Twin Parks" cooperation, was proposed by the Fujian Provincial Government last year, will also be followed up by Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Pandjaitan hoped for the cooperation to be materialized soon.

From the Indonesian side, there is a location in Bintan covering an area of 4,000 hectares with relatively good supporting infrastructure. The concept of cooperation, he explained, can also be developed into "Two Countries Twin Parks with Multiple Zones", by preparing at least three industrial areas including Bintan, Batang and Aviarna Semarang.

Furthermore, he said the development project for the Tsinghua South East Asia Center on Turtle Island in Bali was also a raised by the Chinese Government.

During the meeting, Minister Pandjaitan expressed his hope for the Chinese government to encourage professors and experts to collaborate with the Tsinghua South East Asia Center and for technology companies such as Huawei and Tencent to invest there.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that his government always views the relationship between the two countries strategically. The two countries are expected to strengthen mutual political trust and continue to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.

"Cooperation in various areas has achieved incredibly fast progress," said Wang Yi.

In regard to the cooperation for vaccine technology transfer, Wang Yi said that Indonesia is a country with the strongest vaccine production capacity in Southeast Asia, and that it could provide an opportunity for Chinese companies.

"We will support our company to increase cooperation, especially sharing technology and experience, so that Indonesia can become a vaccine production center in the Southeast Asian region," he said.

In addition, the collaboration on the Poverty Alleviation Program based on science and technology learned from China's experience will also be one of the long-term strategic partnerships between the two countries.

Wang Yi will follow up on Minister Pandjaitan's request for China to share its experiences through this program  and through the relevant ministries as well as  institutions.

"In this pandemic era, we are still able to lift all poverty according to our targeted schedule, and this is the first time we have eliminated pure poverty in 5,000 years of history. We are willing to share experiences with Indonesia, and will connect with related offices," said Wang Yi. (ANTARA)

Indonesia needs to implement the job creation law in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to generate jobs, encourage the opening of new businesses, and curb corruption, according to President Joko Widodo.

“At the limited meeting (on Friday), I stressed why we need the job creation law,” he remarked in a press statement issued from the Bogor Presidential Palace the same day.

He said the first reason for implementing the law is that 2.9 million new job seekers, or youths, enter the labor market every year, which makes the creation of new jobs an urgent requirement.

The situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left 6.9 million people unemployed and 3.5 million workers affected, he added.

Nearly 87 percent of Indonesian workers have studied up to senior high school or lower, while 39 percent have only completed elementary schooling, the President noted. This has prompted the government to encourage the creation of job opportunities, particularly in the labor-intensive sector, he said.

“So the job creation law is aimed at creating as many job opportunities as possible for job seekers and unemployed people,” he remarked.

He said the second reason the law is needed is that it will make it easier for the public, particularly micro and small-scale entrepreneurs, to open new businesses.

The new law is aimed at simplifying overlapping regulations and lengthy procedures, he pointed out. For instance, micro and small businesses will now no longer need business permits, but will only have to register with the relevant agency, he said.

The law will also facilitate the establishment of limited liability companies because there will be no restrictions on minimum capital, he added. Under the new law, nine people can set up a cooperative unit, he continued.

“We hope there will be many cooperatives and micro small businesses in the country engaged in the food and beverage industry. The government will bear all expenses to (help them) apply for halal certificates. In other words, the certificates will be (provided) free of charge,” Widodo noted.

The third reason why the omnibus law is important is that it would support corruption eradication efforts in the country, he remarked.

“It is clear that by simplifying (procedures), cutting (expenses), and integrating the electronic licensing system, there won’t be illegal levies anymore,” he explained.

The House of Representatives (DPR) and the Indonesian government passed the controversial omnibus bill into law on Monday amid mounting criticism over its provisions on labor rights, indigenous community rights, and environmental protection. (ANTARA)

President Joko Widodo recently signed a regulation specifying the procurement and immunization schedule for the COVID-19 vaccine for Indonesia, which has been battling the deadly disease since March 2 this year.

President Widodo signed the Presidential Regulation No. 99/2020 on COVID-19 Vaccine Procurement and Vaccination for Handling COVID-19 Pandemic on October 5, 2020.

According to a draft of the regulation, a copy of which was made available to ANTARA in Jakarta on Wednesday, Indonesia will carry out vaccine procurement and immunization in 2020, 2021, and 2022

The Committee for Handling the COVID-19 Pandemic and National Economic Recovery will be able to extend the immunization window by referring to the Health Ministry's request.

According to Article 2 Point 6 of the new regulation, the government will prioritize the procurement of the vaccine from Indonesia, while Article 5 Point 1 of the regulation states that state pharmaceutical holding company PT Bio Farma has been tasked with procuring the vaccine.

The Indonesian Health Ministry has assigned the task to PT Bio Farma, which is expected to rope in its sister companies -- PT Kimia Farma Tbk and PT Indonesia Farma Tbk — to carry it out.

Meanwhile, international agencies and bodies that can be invited to participate in bidding or research, production, or COVID-19 vaccine procurement include the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI), among others.

The newly-signed presidential regulation also stipulates that the Health Ministry would determine the selling prices of the COVID-19 vaccine by taking the emergency situation and limited stocks of the vaccine into account.

Coronavirus infections initially emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019. Since then, COVID-19 has spread to over 215 countries and territories, including 34 provinces of Indonesia, with a massive spurt in death toll.

To protect Indonesians from the deadly virus, the Indonesian government has been striving to obtain COVID-19 vaccine candidates through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms.

Indonesia, for instance, has collaborated with the Chinese government through Sinovac Biotech's candidate vaccine, but it is also leaving no stone unturned to develop its own vaccine to fight the virus.

Indonesian scientists are currently working on the vaccine, which has been named after the country's national flag, Merah Putih (Red and White). (ANTARA))

The University of Indonesia (UI) and University of Queensland (UQ) Australia are intensifying cooperation through the implementation of the UI-UQ Bilateral Research Forum.

UI Chancellor, Professor Ari Kuncoro, noted in a statement received here on Saturday that in the past two decades, both universities had forged strong cooperation, which started when UI unveiled an International Double Degree Program for its Psychology Faculty.

The collaboration continues to develop by opening undergraduate and postgraduate double degree programs at the Faculty of Public Health, Engineering, Economics and Business, as well as the Communication Study Program.

At the research level, UI and UQ researchers often collaborate to produce scientific studies that have been published and been demonstrated to be beneficial to the government and society.

UI Deputy Chancellor for Research and Innovation Professor Dr rer nat Abdul Haris stated that the COVID-19 pandemic had given rise to multidimensional problems, including hindering efforts to establish relations with partner universities abroad in the wake of travel restrictions.

"However, with increasingly sophisticated technology, we are now able to establish collaborations, including conducting research and studies, and the dissemination can be delivered through online seminars," he stated.

The seminar is expected to serve as a forum for scientific discussions as well as a platform to maintain strong cooperation between both universities and countries.

The topic to be discussed at the seminar is one of importance for both nations and is expected to yield solutions that can benefit the people.

The research collaboration between the two campuses was marked by the implementation of the first series of online seminars on "Policies to Prevent Violent Extremism, Landscapes and Its Implications for Security, Law and Bilateral Justice" on Thursday (Oct 1)

The panelists comprised academics, researchers, and experts in the respective fields, including Mirra Noor Milla, the UI social psychology expert; Susilo Wibisono, the UI social researcher; and Professor Winnifred R. Louis, the professor of Psychology at UQ.

Pribadi Sutiono, the assistant for coordination work for Asia-Pacific and Africa, Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, and Dwi Rubiyanti Kholifah, the Indonesia country director of the Asian Muslim Action Network, were the other panelists. (ANTARA)