VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo, accompanied by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, received the Minister of Armed Forces of the French Republic, Florence Parly (left), at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Thursday (February 10, 2022). (ANTARA/HO-Biro Pers Sekretariat Presiden/Lukas/aa) - 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has reiterated Indonesia's commitment to conserving up to 32.5 million hectares of the national marine area by 2030.

"Our commitment is to achieve 32.5 million hectares of marine conservation area by 2030," he said at the One Ocean Summit, which was broadcast via the Presidential Secretariat's Youtube channel on Friday.

The President also thanked the French leadership for hosting the summit while affirming Indonesia's determination, as the largest island country, to maintain marine life.

"I express my gratitude to President Emmanuel Macron for organizing this summit. As the largest island country, a healthy marine environment is key for sustainable development in Indonesia," Widodo remarked.

He then boasted of Indonesia's frontline position among the global community in promoting marine life protection.

"As of 2021, we have successfully achieved 28.1 million hectares of conserved marine area, which is equal to 86.5 percent of our target. We are confident that our commitment would be achieved by 2030," the President said.

Global leaders must place marine environment management within the context of sustainable development to drive post-pandemic economic recovery, he added.

"Some of our breakthroughs are the implementation of measured fishing that is assisted by an integrated technology-based monitoring system and the development of fish cultivation villages that respect local customs to eradicate poverty and promote high-value commodity preservation," Widodo informed.

The One Ocean Summit, organized in Brest, France on February 9–11, 2022, aimed to mobilize the international community for taking concrete actions to ensure sustainable marine life in the future.

The event was organized by France, which is currently holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the endorsement of the United Nations.

For the summit, President Macron gathered heads of states and governments, multilateral institution leaders, business leaders, and civil groups to broker a common commitment to protect and preserve marine life and the environment.

Initiatives agreed upon at the summit included the protection of the marine ecosystem and sustainable fishing, commitment to eradicating marine pollution and plastic waste, addressing climate change effects, and advocating improvements in global marine management//ANT

Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo during a BI Webinar with CNBC Indonesia, on Friday (February 11, 2022). (ANTARA/Agatha Olivia) - 

Bank Indonesia (BI) has increased the transaction limit for the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) from Rp10 million to Rp20 million per transaction.

"We have just decided to double the QRIS limit, from previously it was just increased to Rp.10 million, now it is Rp20 million per transaction," BI Governor Perry Warjiyo informed during a BI Webinar with CNBC Indonesia here on Friday.

In 2022, transactions using QRIS are targeted to increase by 15 million from 12 million transactions in 2021, he said.

He also revealed that QRIS transactions can now be carried out between countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, and several others.

According to Warjiyo, various expansions of QRIS are part of the 2025 National Payment System Blueprint Vision launched in May 2019.

To this end, it is hoped that all parties can support digitalization efforts by using QRIS in their daily activities, he said.

Aside from QRIS, another BI effort for digitizing payments has been the BI-FAST launched in December 2021, he added.

"BI-FAST replaces the National Clearing System of Bank Indonesia (SKNBI). Thus, it is really powerful because it runs 24 hours in seven days and never sleeps," the BI Governor remarked.

Earlier, deputy governor of Bank Indonesia (BI), Doni P. Joewono, revealed that the number of partner merchants utilizing QRIS had reached 13.6 million as of late December 2021.

Meanwhile, in 2021, transactions performed using QRIS reached a value of Rp27.7 trillion, a growth of 237 percent year on year, he noted.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged the use of digital technology for various economic and financial transactions," Joewono said at the 'International Seminar on Digital Financial Inclusion,' on February 2, 2022//ANT

A screenshot of President Joko Widodo delivering a speech at the One Ocean Summit in Jakarta on Friday (February 11, 2022). (ANTARA/Indra Arief/rst) - 

Indonesia will highlight the importance of the blue economy, blue carbon, and also marine debris handling during its Presidency of the G20, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said.

Indonesia is ready to partner with all parties to create a sustainable marine ecosystem, he added.

"At the global level, Indonesia continues to support the mainstreaming of marine issues. Indonesia's Presidency of the G20 will highlight the importance of a blue economy, blue carbon, and marine debris handling," he remarked at the One Ocean Summit, which was broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube Channel on Friday.

At the domestic level, Indonesia has made several breakthroughs for managing the marine environment in a sustainable manner, he noted.

The breakthroughs include policies for fish handling in a measured and quota-based manner, supported by a technology-based monitoring system, he said.

Another breakthrough has been the development of an aquaculture village based on local wisdom for poverty alleviation and preservation of high economic value commodities, he added.

"The management of the marine environment needs to be placed on the dimension of sustainable development and becoming a part of supporting economic recovery from the impact of the pandemic," he remarked.

He also emphasized that as the largest archipelagic country in the world, a healthy marine environment is key to the sustainable development of Indonesia.

"We are proud to be one of the countries who are fighting for marine protection," the President remarked.

Indonesia is holding the G20 Presidency for the first time since the grouping was initiated in 1999. The global forum comprises 19 countries and the European Union. Its members account for 80 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), 75 percent of international trade, and 60 percent of the global population//ANT

Director of domestic trade at the Ministry of Trade, Oke Nurwan. (ANTARA/Sella P G/rst) - 

The price of fermented food products made from soybean, namely tofu and tempe, will increase in Indonesia in the coming months due to soaring international soybean prices, the Trade Ministry has informed.

"The global soybean supply is currently disrupted. There is a decline in soybean production in Brazil, which was originally predicted to produce 140 million tons in January, but its production has fallen to 125 million tons," Director of Domestic Trade at the ministry Oke Nurwan said.

This decline in production has had an impact on increasing world soybean prices,  he informed at a virtual press conference on Friday.

Another cause for the price rise has been inflation in the United States, which has reached 7 percent, he said. This has resulted in price increases in soybean product inputs, he explained.

In addition, labor reductions, increases in land rental costs, and weather-related uncertainties in soybean-producing countries have also led soybean farmers in the United States to raise prices, he informed.

"Based on data from the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), soybean prices in the first week of February 2022 reached US$15.77 per bushel or around Rp11,240 per kilogram at the domestic importer level," he noted.

It is estimated that the prices will continue to increase until May 2022 to reach US$15.79 per bushel, he informed. Furthermore, there will be a decline in prices in July to US$15.74 per bushel at the importer level, he said.

Thus, the increase in global soybean prices would inflate soybean prices for domestic tofu and tempe producers, Nurwan added.

"The increase in soybean prices directly affects the prices of derivative products from soybeans, especially tofu and tempe," he said.

Based on data from the Association of Indonesian Tempe and Tofu Producers Cooperatives (Gakoptindo), the current price of soybeans is Rp10,800–Rp11,000 per kilogram, he noted.

Meanwhile, soybean stock at importers is currently around 140 thousand tons and additional stock of 160 thousand tons is expected to be added, he said.

Thus, the supply of soybeans is estimated to be sufficient to meet domestic demand for the next two months, he added.

However, Nurwan emphasized, the government will maintain the availability of soybeans even though the prices are rising.

"We understand that tofu and tempe are some of the most consumed food products in Indonesia," he said.

At least 80 percent of Indonesia's soybean needs are currently supplied from abroad since domestic production is not sufficient, Nurwan explained.

As an initial estimate, the price of tempe would be around Rp10,300–Rp10,600 per kilogram, he said. Meanwhile, the price of tofu would range between Rp52,450–Rp 53,700 per board or Rp650–Rp700 per piece, he added//ANT