VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

photo : euronews

Brussels and London pledged Friday to step up the pace of Brexit trade talks to try to strike a deal by the end of October, after the latest round of negotiations ended with no major breakthrough. European Union (EU) chief negotiator Michel Barnier accused Britain of backtracking on divorce terms agreed last year, as he reported "no significant progress" in four days of talks held by video link because of coronavirus. The former French minister set an October 31 deadline, to reach an agreement on future EU-UK ties, to give time for it to be ratified before the end of the year. Britain left the EU on January 31 and is now in a transition period until December 31, when it will leave the bloc's single market and customs union -- with or without a trade deal. Barnier's UK counterpart David Frost noted "limited" advances and asked that both sides "intensify and accelerate our work" in order to clinch the deal. Barnier said the next round of talks would take place in late June or early July as officials talked of a busy summer ahead for negotiations//AFP

photo : antaranews

Indonesia and the United Kingdom are united in the push for providing affordable vaccines to all levels of the global community, including in remote areas, said British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste, Owen Jenkins. He made the statement at a virtual press conference in Jakarta on Friday. The ambassador said the joint desire of both countries was reflected in the Global Vaccine Summit, held by the vaccine alliance GAVI on Thursday (June 4, 2020). Ambassador Jenkins said that he is very pleased to say that the UK and Indonesia are united behind this approach, the desire for an affordable vaccine, which is accessible to everyone. The summit was attended by more than 60 ministers, and heads of state and governments, including Indonesia’s Minister of Health, Terawan Agus Putranto, who spoke in support of affordable and accessible vaccines in his video message. The GAVI Summit was held to raise funds to provide vaccines to 300 million children in the world’s poorest countries before the year 2025. The fundraising target was set at US$7.4 billion//ANT

photo : antaranews

The Industry Ministry has readied criteria for business sectors eligible to receive recovery stimulus under the National Economic Recovery Program (PEN). As quoted by Antara, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita in a statement on Friday stated, that one of the criteria is linked to the absorption of workers. Kartasasmita stressed on the importance of giving special attention to the labour-intensive sector, to enable those engaged to continue operations and prevent them from conducting mass layoffs, while simultaneously maintaining the people's purchasing power. He explained that it holds significance since this sector absorbs a significant number of workers, and any shocks in the sector will affect workers and their families. Stimulus in credit and working capital for recovery of the manufacturing industry is covered in the PEN Program, as stipulated in Government Regulation No. 23 of 2020 on implementation of PEN amid the COVID-19 pandemic//ANT

photo : JP

Bank Indonesia (BI) revealed the flow of foreign capital into Indonesia has begun to rise, from the first week of June this year, reaching Rp7.01 trillion, on the back of improving investor confidence in the country’s economy. As quoted by Antara BI Governor Perry Warjiyo in an online press statement on Friday stated, that the confidence of investors, including foreigners, in the condition of Indonesia's economy is getting better, and that has been proven by the flow of foreign capital into government bonds (SBN). The BI Governor revealed that since the second week of May, 2020, foreign investment has continued to flow into government bonds (SBN) and bond instruments, reaching Rp2.97 trillion. In the third week of May, it totalled Rp6.15 trillion; in the fourth week, it stood at Rp2.5 trillion; and, in the first week of June, it was registered at Rp7.01 trillion//ANT