VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong meets his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Dec 16, 2023. (Photo: Ministry of Communications and Information) - 

SINGAPORE: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on Saturday (Dec 16) during his trip to Tokyo.

Mr Lee is in Tokyo from Dec 15 to Dec 18 for the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit. 

The prime ministers welcomed the signing of a memorandum of cooperation to establish a green and digital shipping corridor between ports in Singapore and Japan.

The agreement will facilitate the adoption of digital solutions and the provision of zero and near-zero emission fuels through demonstration projects, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a statement on Saturday.

Both prime ministers also reaffirmed the longstanding and excellent relations between Singapore and Japan, and discussed how the countries could further expand and deepen cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as the future economy, digitalisation, security, as well as sustainability and energy.

The leaders exchanged views on regional and international developments, and emphasised the importance of upholding a rules-based international order and the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

"Both leaders welcomed the upgrade of ASEAN-Japan relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership earlier this year, and noted that this would be an opportunity to further ties between both sides as well as jointly address the challenges facing the region," said MFA.

The prime ministers also "looked forward to celebrating 60 years of Singapore-Japan diplomatic relations in 2026".

The memorandum of cooperation to establish a green and digital shipping corridor was signed by Singapore's Acting Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat and Japan's Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Saito Tetsuo.

This memorandum marks the first green and digital shipping corridor established between Singapore and Japan to develop standards and best practices supporting the decarbonisation, digitalisation and growth of the maritime industry, said Singapore's Ministry of Transport (MOT)//CNA-VOI

A natural gas pipeline, and the logos of Tokyo Gas and Rockcliff Energy are seen in this illustration taken January 4, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo - 

TOKYO : A unit of Tokyo Gas has decided to buy Texas-based natural gas producer Rockcliff Energy from private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners for $2.7 billion to expand its overseas business, it said on Saturday.

The deal comes as part of the Japanese company's efforts to expand its North American shale gas operations to meet growing demand for natural gas as an energy transition fuel.

Tokyo Gas, Japan's biggest city gas supplier, and other utilities are stepping up overseas expansion to counter falling demand in their domestic market. Japan has an ageing population and a declining birthrate, while energy market reform has spurred competition among old-guard utilities.

Under the deal, TG Natural Resources (TGNR) - 79 per cent owned by Tokyo Gas - will buy all shares in Rockcliff Energy from Quantum Energy Partners. The deal is expected to close on Dec. 29, Tokyo Gas said.

With the acquisition, TGNR's natural gas production will quadruple to 1.3 billion cubic feet per day from about 330 million cubic feet per day, making it one of the largest shale gas producers in Texas and Louisiana, according to Tokyo Gas.

"We expect our gas production will be more efficient after the acquisition as Rockcliff Energy's output area is located adjacent to TGNR's blocks," Takashi Nakao, senior general manager of global business development at Tokyo Gas, told reporters.

The production is also close to new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals and other facilities expected to increase demand for natural gas in the future, Nakao said.

Asked if the supply will be exported to Japan as LNG, Nakao said the current plan is to sell all the gas in the U.S. domestic market, though he did not rule out possibly sending it as LNG to Japan in the future.

Talks about the acquisition were reported by Reuters early this year//CNA-VOI

FILE PHOTO: SpaceX headquarters is shown in Hawthorne, California, U.S. September 19, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake - 

SpaceX said it was targeting Thursday, Dec. 28 for the launch of the U.S. military's X-37B robot spaceplane on its seventh mission to orbit.

"Now targeting no earlier than Thursday, December 28 for Falcon Heavy to launch USSF-52 to orbit from Florida," SpaceX said in a post on X on Friday, after it stood down on the launch earlier this week to perform additional system checkouts.

The original plan to send the spacecraft to orbit late on Sunday was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions at Cape Canaveral, Florida//CNA-VOI

Vincent Jemadu and UNWTO representative after Workshop for UNWTO Gastronomy Tourism Development meet with press - 

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Kemenparekraf/Baparekraf) collaborated with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Gianyar Regency Government to hold a Workshop for UNWTO Gastronomy Tourism Development at The Royal Pita Maha, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali, Thursday (12/14/2023).

This activity is a follow-up and socialization of the Gastronomic Destination Development Strategy document in Ubud. This document was previously submitted by UNWTO to the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy/Head of the Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Menparekraf/Kabaparekraf) Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno on the agenda of the National Coordination Meeting (Rakornas) for Tourism and Creative Economy, Tuesday (12/12/2023) at Bandung West Java.

The document has also been submitted to the Gianyar Regency Government, represented by Assistant III of the Gianyar Regional Secretariat, I Ketut Pasek Lanang Sadia accompanied by the Head of the Gianyar Regency Tourism Office, I Wayan Gede Sedana Putra.

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga in his statement, Friday (15/12/2023), said that this workshop and socialization is expected to strengthen the role and collaboration of stakeholders in Ubud.

Starting from various organizations, local and regional destination managers, business representatives and academics related to gastronomy in Ubud.

"Ubud was chosen as a pilot project for the development of gastronomic tourism because of its readiness and high level of collaboration between stakeholders. "Food in Ubud is not just a culinary dish, but has become a lifestyle and culture for the local community." said Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Saturday, the gastronomic culture that is rooted in Ubud can be seen from the interpretation of the reliefs on the walls of Yeh Pulu Temple, which depict the culture of raising livestock, farming and hunting as part of the local gastronomic culture.

Ubud also has Subak, a traditional irrigation management system which is a cultural pillar of Balinese society as well as the Tri Hita Karana philosophy, the principle of harmony between humans, nature and God, which also represents cultural and culinary riches.

"Ubud is one of the tourism icons in Gianyar which is expected to contribute more to the regional economy through gastronomy and we from the Gianyar regional government will support it from a regulatory perspective," said Assistant III of the Gianyar Regional Secretariat, I Ketut Pasek Lanang Sadia.

Apart from authentic, traditional, innovative and sustainable culinary experiences, gastronomic tourism is an implementation of inclusive tourism that can involve various stakeholders and other related activities.

Such as visiting local producers, participating in food festivals, attending cooking classes, visiting education centers, enjoying traditional foods, and so on.

Therefore, the involvement and _spirit_ of collaboration from various parties is very important to be able to optimize the benefits that can be obtained from the development of gastronomic tourism.

Department Officer, Tourism Market Intelligence and Competitiveness UNWTO, Patricia Carmona, said that one of the main recommendations in this program is the formation of a Gastronomy Tourism Club.

Namely, an organizational body consisting of all stakeholders in the gastronomy industry to be able to actively collaborate and be committed to initiating the development and implementation of gastronomy-related programs in Ubud in the future.

"It is hoped that the program and action plan for this activity can be collaborated with ministries, institutions and wider stakeholders," said the Deputy for Tourism Products and Event Organizers at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Vinsensius Jemadu.

The Workshop for UNWTO Gastronomy Tourism Development activities were then continued with the Gastronomy Tourism Club Kick-off Meeting to discuss follow-up plans for the gastronomic tourism development program in Ubud//VOI