VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Trade (Mendag), Muhammad Lutfi - sekneg

Minister of Trade, Muhammad Lutfi, has said he expects Indonesia's exports to swell by 4 percent this year to support the government’s economic growth target of 5-5.5 percent.

"I believe it will happen because there is such a thing as a supercycle instead of a commodity," the minister said during an online press conference in Jakarta on Friday.

Lutfi said he has seen the calculations of global agencies, such as the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development), both of which have made corrections to their projections for the world economy and stated that the numbers will improve.

"If we look at the world rating agencies, especially the IMF, the OECD provides an update on the world economy, which is rising. So, it means that it is correcting, but (it is) not a downward correction; the correction is upwards," the minister elaborated.Meanwhile, Indonesia is aiming for 5-5.5 percent economic growth this year. To achieve the economic growth target, exports must grow by 4 percent, while import growth cannot be more than 2 percent, household consumption must increase by 5 percent, and investment needs to grow by 13.7 percent, he said.

Regarding this matter, from the trade side, there are two things that directly intersect, namely exports and imports, he remarked.

Although the increase in exports must reach 4 percent, the Trade Ministry is designing a strategy so that exports can grow by 6.3 percent, he added.

The Trade Minister's optimism is supported by the trend of commodity supercycles, or commodities whose prices have risen rapidly compared to previous years, such as crude oil, LNG, rice, iron ore, and copper."Some of the world's major commodity prices recorded a very significant record increase in 2020, which triggered speculation of a commodity supercycle in 2020-2021 due to economic stimulus in developed countries, the weakening dollar exchange rate, and a drastic increase in demand in China and industrialized countries in Asia," the Trade Minister said//ANT

President Joko Widodo -YouTube Sekretariat Presiden

President Joko Widodo will shortly contact Hassanal Bolkiah, the ASEAN 2021 chair, to discuss the possibility of holding the ASEAN leaders meeting in pursuit of a solution to the Myanmar crisis.

"I will soon hold talks with the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, as the ASEAN chair, to look into the possibility of holding an ASEAN leaders meeting to discuss the crisis in Myanmar," the president noted in a statement from the Bogor Presidential Palace in West Java on Friday.

Widodo sought a prompt reconciliation dialog to restore democracy, peace, and stability in Myanmar.

"Public safety and welfare must be the main priority," the head of state remarked.

The Indonesian government also called to promptly end the violence in Myanmar that had inflicted sufferings on the people at large."On behalf of myself and the entire Indonesian nation, I extend deep condolences and sympathy to the victims and their relatives due to the use of violence in Myanmar," he stated.Myanmar has been engulfed by the crisis since the military (Tatmadaw) seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021.

Tatmadaw took power after detaining several civil government officials, including President Myanmar Win Myint and several senior members of the ruling-party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

Tatmadaw stated that the power of the Myanmar government had been handed over to Myanmar Military Chief General Min Aung Hlaing.

A string of demonstrations have since then been held in Myanmar to protest against the military coup and took a violent turn that resulted in civilian deaths//ANT

Pentagon chief sees Asia ties as deterrent against China

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday (Mar 13) he was traveling to Asia to boost military cooperation with American allies and foster "credible deterrence" against China.

Austin kicked off via Hawaii, seat of the American military command for the Indo-Pacific region, his first foreign visits as Pentagon chief.

"It's also about enhancing capabilities," he added, recalling that while the United States was focused on the anti-jihadist struggle in the Middle East, China was modernising its army at high speed.

"That competitive edge that we've had has eroded," he said. "We still maintain that edge. We are going to increase that edge going forward.""Our goal is to make sure that we have the capabilities and the operational plans ... to be able to offer a credible deterrence to China or anybody else who would want to take on the US," he added.

Lloyd will be joined in Tokyo and Seoul by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"One of the things that the secretary of state and I want to do is begin to strengthen those alliances," he said. "This will be more about listening and learning, getting their point of view."

This tour in Asia of the heads of diplomacy and defense of the United States follows an unprecedented summit of the "Quad", an informal alliance born in the 2000s to counterbalance a rising China.

The Alaska talks will be the first between the powers since Yang met Blinken's hawkish predecessor Mike Pompeo in June in Hawaii - a setting similarly far from the high-stakes glare of national capitals.

The Biden administration has generally backed the tougher approach to China initiated by former president Donald Trump, but has also insisted that it can be more effective by shoring up alliances and seeking narrow ways to cooperate on priorities such as climate change//CNA

British Airways calls for vaccinated people to travel without restrictions

British Airways' new boss said vaccinated people should be allowed to travel without restriction and non-vaccinated people with a negative COVID-19 test, as he set out his ideas for a travel restart a month before the UK government finalises its plans.

Holidays will not be allowed until May 17 at the earliest, the government has said, but before that, on Apr 12, Britain will announce how and when non-essential travel into and out of the country can resume.

"I think people who've been vaccinated should be able to travel without restriction. Those who have not been vaccinated should be able to travel with a negative test result," he said.

Doyle said the roll-out of vaccines made him optimistic BA would be back flying this summer, but added the recovery depends on what is said on Apr 12.

He wants the government to give its backing to health apps that can be used to verify a person's negative COVID-19 test results and vaccination status.

Apps will be key to facilitating travel at scale, the industry has said. Airline staff checking paperwork takes 20 minutes per passenger and is not practical if large numbers of passengers return.

Britain has rapidly rolled out vaccinations and 44 per cent of the adult population, mostly people over 60, have now had their first shot.

The government has said any return to travel must be fair and not unduly disadvantage those who have not been vaccinated.

Doyle expects Britain to bring in a tiered framework with destinations put into categories depending on risk, and that will determine BA's summer schedule.

Budget rival Ryanair, Europe's biggest airline, has said it hopes to fly up to 70 per cent of 2019 passenger numbers this summer.

BA has struck a deal with a testing kit provider giving its passengers £33 (US$46) tests to take abroad.

Travel commentators expect most European airlines to focus on short-haul leisure routes this summer, and Doyle noted France, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Spain had all sounded positive about welcoming British holiday-makers.

But he said BA was also looking further afield.

"We're already looking at new destinations over the summer that we haven't flown to before, and that could be across both long haul and short haul," Doyle said//CNA