VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Foreign Minister  Retno Marsudi addresses Global Town Hall 2021 held virtually in  Jakarta on Saturday. ANTARA/Azis Kurmala - 

Indonesia has always called for fair and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines at bilateral, regional and multilateral forums, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has said.

“Indonesian President Joko Widodo has expressed his concern about vaccine distribution at bilateral, regional, and multilateral forums. I am also one of the chiefs of multilateral cooperation for COVID-19 vaccine procurement, COVAX Advance Market Commitment Engagement Group (COVAX-AMC EG) established to facilitate aaccess to vaccines for 92 countries,” she said at Global Town Hall 2021 held virtually here on Saturday.

She said vaccine will become scarce and scarce goods is often sold to the highest bidders.

“That is what is happening now. Nearly 64.99 percent of people in high income countries have received their first vaccine dose compared to 6.48 percent in low income countries. More than 80 percent of vaccines have been delivered to G20 member states compared to 0.4 percent to low income countries,” she said.

Everyday there are six times more boosters administered globally than primary doses in low income countries.

As many as 56 countries failed to meet the WHO target of vaccinating 10 percent of their population as of September 2021 and almost 80 countries are unlikely to achieve the target of vaccinating 40 percent of their population at the end of this year, she noted.

Meanwhile, at least 100 million vaccine doses cannot be used in G7 countries in 2021 because they have expired. The number of expired doses may swell to 800 million in mid-2022.

“If all the COVID-19 vaccine doses administered globally were distributed equitably, then our 40 percent vaccination target for each country would be achieved,” she remarked.

However, many countries relied on COVAX facility as the only means to obtain vaccines.

“COVAX has shipped more than 507 million doses. But COVAX does not produce vaccine and has failed to achieve its target of shipping 2 billion doses this year. We still need another 550 million doses to achieve the 40 percent vaccination target set by WHO for each country,” she said.

The minister said the global COVID-19 vaccine production currently reaches 1.5 billion doses per month so that vaccine needs are actually sufficient from the supply perspective ,

“But will they be distributed fairly this time?. The challenge to the global vaccination effort does not stop here. We must get as many vaccine doses as possible. That’s not an easy task,” she added.

There is wrong information to challenge because it has contributed to vaccine doubt. Not all countries are prepared to receive vaccine doses in large quantities much less have national strategy to distribute them, she said.

Low-income countries have to increase their health spending by an average of 56.6 percent to cover the vaccination cost for 70 percent of their population compared to 0.8 percent in high income countries, she said//ANT

President Joko Widodo receiving the right of G20 presidency from Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (right) in Rome, Italy, Sunday, October 31, 2021. (ANTARA FOTO/Biro Pers Media Kepresidenan/Laily Rachev/Handout/aww) - 

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto stated that Indonesia's G20 Presidency,next year, crystallizes the global community's expectation  of an equitable recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Indonesia's G20 presidency is not only a great challenge but also a hope. By bringing up the theme Recover Together, Recover Stronger, Indonesia encourages joint efforts for the recovery of the world economy," he said here on Sunday.

According to data from the United Nations, about 48 countries are facing a high or very high risk of lost generation due to reduced educational opportunities, job losses, and constrained health care systems.

Thus, a global-scale cooperation is necessary to prevent prolonged crisis, particularly to help the poorest and most vulnerable countries.

Global cooperation, one of which is through the G20 Indonesia Presidency, will also seek global partnerships in the form of funding support, suspension of debt payments, and access to technology.

The pandemic has facilitated an opportunity to reset and reshape the world in accordance  with  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Countries all over the world have committed to achieving these goals by 2030, thus innovative financing mechanisms are needed to close the gap in the funding of the SDGs.

One of these innovative financing is in the form of blended finance and sustainable private investment which is meant to revive the economy and create jobs.

President Joko Widodo has emphasized that the main principles that must be followed are  inclusivity, community-focused, environmentally friendly, and sustainable growth.

This principles go hand in hand with increasing productivity and resilience, as well as ensuring economic and financial stability all around the world.

"Indonesia will try its best so that the G20 can benefit all countries. Inclusivity is a top priority for Indonesia's leadership, with a commitment to ensure no one is left behind," The minister concluded//ANT

Tourists take photos of an iconic pair of trees near the Bridal Bridge on Sakura Beach, Untung Jawa Island, Kepulauan Seribu district on November 9, 2021. (ANTARA/Abdu Faisal/uyu) - 

The National Economic Recovery's (PEN's) labor- intensive program would be conducted in Jakarta's Kepulauan Seribu District in 2022 by focusing on coral reef transplantation, an official from the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment has said.

"All people in the district who have been economically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can work in the Indonesia Coral Reef Garden (ICRG) PEN Program," Deputy for Coordination of Maritime Resources at the ministry Andreas A Hutahaean informed on Friday.

All residents will have the same opportunity to participate in the program, he emphasized.

"They can be tourism actors, fishermen, or housewives. We target the program to absorb around 3,500-5,000 workers," he said.

Currently, the ICRG PEN program in the district is still being prepared as it will be conducted next year, he added.

"We are also conducting a survey which ends in mid-December. Later, we will hold a meeting with related parties and take decisions regarding the implementation of the program," the deputy said.

Meanwhile, the deputy head of Kepulauan Seribu district, Muhammad Fadjar Churniawan, said the district welcomed the program.

"It is extraordinary," he remarked.

He said he will encourage residents who know about coral reef transplantation to get involved in the program. Thus, the coral reef will get good care and supervision, he opined.

"If the coral reef grows well, it will have an impact on the tourism sector and improve the community’s economy,” he added.

Earlier, during a meeting, the coordinating ministry’s deputy and the deputy regent and officials of the Maritime and Fishery Food Security Office (KPKP) of Pramuka Island, Kepulauan Seribu district, agreed to follow up the labor-intensive ICRG PEN program.

The district is one of the nine target locations of the implementation of the ICRG PEN Program//ANT

Screenshot—President Joko Widodo opens National Culture Week 2021 on Friday (November 19, 2021). (ANTARA/Indriani/aa) - 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said he wants to improve the country's balance of payment, which has remained under pressure for many years due to high oil imports.

To that end, the use of electric cars and stoves must be encouraged to reduce oil and gas needs, he said.

“If we are able to switch to other energy, for instance, replacing all cars with electric ones, and household gas with electricity due to PLN’s power oversupply, then Pertamina’s oil imports will decline,” the President said in directives to the boards of commissioners and directors of state electricity company PT PLN at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday, streamed on the Youtube channel of the Presidential Secretariat on Saturday.

By optimizing the use of electric power from PLN, the issue of electric power supply can be resolved and oil imports will decline accordingly, he explained.

If oil imports decline, this will have a positive impact on the country’s current account and balance of payment, he pointed out.

“The great goal is that the country will receive gain in the form of (surplus in) the balance of payment, which has remained unsolved for tens of years now because our oil imports are very large,” Jokowi noted.

The decline in oil imports will also enable state oil and gas company Pertamina to reduce its dollar needs in the money market, allowing the rupiah’s exchange rate to strengthen, he said.

If the rupiah’s exchange rate strengthens due to a steady decline in imports, the Indonesian economy will fundamentally become more resilient and competitive, he added.

President Jokowi also urged PLN to prepare for an energy transition from fossil fuel to environmentally friendly or green energy.

“This is urgent. It must set a target, for instance, for 2022, since (in 2021 there) is still one month left. For instance, to produce 5 thousand megawatts of electrical power in 2022, it can switch from coal to hydropower, geothermal energy, or solar panel,” he said.

The energy transition from fossil energy to green energy must be done by all sides, including PLN and Pertamina, he added.

"For the better interests, for our children and grandchildren, energy transition to green energy is inevitable,” he said//ANT