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The National Defense Forces (TNI) recruited thousands of medical and non-medical volunteers at the TNI Headquarters in Jakarta on Saturday (July 10, 2021) as vaccinators and administrative officers for its mass COVID-19 vaccination drive. ANTARA/HO-The Indonesian Military Information Center - 

The National Defense Forces (TNI) recruited thousands of medical and non-medical volunteers at the TNI Headquarters in Jakarta on Saturday as vaccinators and administrative officers for its mass COVID-19 vaccination drive.

The volunteers comprised doctors, students, youths, and social organization members from Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Jabodetabek), TNI said.

They will be assigned as vaccinators and administrative officers for the mass COVID-19 vaccination drive at Gelora Bung Karno Sports Stadium (GBK) and JIExpo Building in Jakarta on Sunday (July 11, 2021).

Assistant to TNI chief for territorial affairs, Major General Madsum, said TNI chief Marshal Hadi Tahjanto ordered the recruitment of volunteers to accelerate the vaccination program.

The TNI chief is targeting to vaccinate over 70 percent of citizens aged above 12 years in and around Jakarta before the commemoration of Independence Day on August 17, 2021 as part of efforts to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19, he added.

"For this purpose, we need more than three thousand additional personnel from volunteers comprising medical workers and administrative officers. The registration is ongoing today. We have announced it to partners and community members to register themselves as volunteers," Madsum informed in a press statement.

The TNI's Health Center will coordinate volunteers for the vaccination program organized by TNI and other agencies in and around Jakarta.

Through the mass vaccination drive at GBK Stadium and JIExpo Kemayoran on Sunday, TNI is targeting to vaccinate 50 thousand people -- 35 thousand at GBK Stadium and 15 thousand at JIExpo.

"This (vaccination drive) will continue until we reach 70 percent of herd immunity. Tomorrow, the Indonesian Army Headquarters and the Jakarta Regional Military Command, in cooperation with TNI's Health Center and Four Pillars, will conduct vaccination at 10 district military commands. This is the initiative of the TNI chief to achieve 70 percent of herd immunity soon," Madsum said//ANT

Documentation -- Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi joining the Afghan peace talks from Jakarta on December 9, 2020. (ANTARA/HO-Foreign Affairs Ministry/pri.) - 

The Foreign Ministry and the Indonesian embassy in Kabul are continuously monitoring the security situation in Afghanistan following the US announcing an end to its military mission in the country by August 31 this year.

"To protect Indonesian nationals in Kabul, the Foreign Ministry and the Indonesian Embassy in Kabul have formulated a contingency plan to anticipate any possibilities," director of Indonesian citizens and legal entities at the Foreign Ministry, Judha Nugraha, said in a written statement released on Saturday.

The Indonesian embassy has established communication with relevant parties to monitor the safety of Indonesian nationals in Afghanistan, he informed.

"Based on the initial database of the Indonesian embassy in Kabul, 46 Indonesians are staying in Afghanistan," he said.

However, most of them have returned to Indonesia, he informed adding, only three Indonesians are currently still in Afghanistan.

US President Joe Biden has announced that the US military mission in Afghanistan will end on August 31, 2021 and asked the Afghan people to determine their future themselves.

Reuters quoted Biden as saying that he will not involve more US generations in the two-decade-old armed conflict in Afghanistan.

He further said the Afghan military has the capacity to evict the Taliban.

He also debunked a US intelligence report which predicted the US-backed government in Kabul would collapse in six months amid concerns over a civil war//ANT

Secretary of the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Businesses Ministry, Arif Rahman Hakim. (ANTARA/HO-Humas Kemenkop) - 

The Cooperatives and Small and Medium Businesses Ministry has said it is aiming to boost the contribution of cooperatives to the national gross domestic product (GDP) to 5.5 percent by 2024.

This would be in accordance with the target set in the medium-term national development plan (RPJMN) 2020-2024, the ministry's secretary, Arif Rahman Hakim, said at a webinar on Creating Member-Based Cooperatives Ecosystem toward Modern Cooperatives, originating from Jakarta on Saturday.

The contribution of cooperatives to the GDP currently stands at 5.1 percent, he informed at the webinar, which was held to mark Cooperatives Day.

"The contribution of cooperatives to the GDP is expected to increase to 5.5 percent and the development of modern cooperatives (is seen) to reach 500 at the end of 2024," he disclosed.

The contribution of cooperatives to the GDP is still low since cooperatives have not fully become the main pillar of the public economic institution, he said.

Cooperatives have big potential to promote public economy and welfare, he added.

In addition to promoting the economy of their members, cooperatives are also expected to serve as social and educational institutions for their members and community, Hakim said.

Not just the contribution of cooperatives to the GDP, but public participation in cooperatives is also low, he said.

The country's participation rate in cooperatives currently stands at 8.41 percent, well below the global average of 16.31 percent, he highlighted.

"Of course, this poses a challenge for us. There are still many rooms (much scope) in which we can participate to promote cooperatives," he said.

The Cooperatives and Small and Medium Businesses Ministry has adopted four strategies to boost capacity, outreach, and innovation among cooperatives, he informed.

The strategies will also serve as a way to realize the President's directives to upgrade small and medium businesses and modernize cooperatives, he said.

The four strategies involve modernization of cooperatives, informal to formal transformation, digital transformation and information technology use, and transformation in the global value chain, he elaborated//ANT

Soldiers of the Indonesian Army and the US Army's Security Force Assistance Brigade. ANTARA/HO-TNI AD - 

Joint combat training exercise involving Indonesian Army (TNI AD) and US Army's Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) soldiers was held at the Army’s Strategic Command (Kostrad) battalions, Army Chief of Staff General Andika Perkasa stated.

"The main objective behind holding the joint training between soldiers of the TNI AD and Security Force Assistance Brigade of the US Army is to gain experience and establish friendship between friendly countries," Perkasa noted in a statement here on Saturday.

Direct interactions among the two armies' soldiers were deemed necessary during the joint exercise, for which they had to communicate with one another in order to boost friendship.

The special unit of the US Army is currently in the 433/Julu Siri Para Raider Infantry Battalion in Maros, South Sulawesi.

During the training, they shared new military experiences and knowledge as well as shooting skills and battlefield mastery.

Moreover, the soldiers’ joint activities comprised sports games and fishing.

"This is the first time that the 433th Infantry Battalion/Julu Siri conduct exercises together with the United States soldiers, especially the Security Force Assistance Brigade," Sergeant Abdul Aziz Budi Hasbullah, personnel of the 433th Para Raider Battalion/Julu Siri, stated.

Another Indonesian soldier, private in charge (praka) Asri Aldi, stated that the Indonesian soldiers could increase their knowledge during training along with the SFAB personnel//ANT