VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Food, Hilal Elver officially visited Indonesia. This visit was appointed directly by the United Nations Human Rights Council and aims to assess how Indonesian people enjoy the rights to food, including recommendations for good practices and challenges faced today. During a press conference on his observations in Indonesia in Jakarta, Wednesday, (April 18), Hilal Elver said that during his ten-day visit from April 9 to 18, she had a meeting with Minister of Agriculture, Andi Amran Sulaiman and Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Susi Pudjiastuti. In addition, she also attended meetings with high-ranking officials and civil society organizations.

“…I had two meetings with Ministerial level from the Ministry of Agriculture and the other is Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and various Ministerial High Level Officials; they give me briefings. And then i met with the civil society organization, here as you know, as Komnas HAM and Komnas Perempuan. We have a big meeting to come,” Hilal said.

Hilal Elver further said that she had visited local government and civil society in Palembang, Yogyakarta and Ambon. During her visit to the three cities, she had the opportunity to learn about specific practices and issues related to regional differences. (Egi/Trans by Rezha/RHM)

Ciletuh Geopark in West Java declared as part of Global Geopark network on the 204^th UNESCO Executive Board commission's meeting in Paris, France on April 14, 2018. Permanent Representative of Indonesia to UNESCO for 2015-2018 period, Fauzi Soelaiman said, after the long process, Ciletuh successfully becomes one of global Geopark. At a Discussion themed Indonesia World Heritage in International Diplomacy and Interaction on Tuesday, April 17, he said West Java provincial government has built road to Ciletuh Geopark, Pelabuhan Ratu. According to him, this infrastructure development effort is highly appreciated by UNESCO. In addition, academics from Padjajaran University also participated in various research related to Ciletuh, and support the process to declareCiletuh as Geopark by UNESCO. Bythis recognition,the number of tourist visiting the area will increase.

“If a site has been recognized by UNESCO.They usually put the symbol of geopark there. Then more people will come. UNESCO’s recognition shows that the site has been good, well managed.It is the magnetif we got recognition from UNESCO, said Fauzi.

Fauzi pointed out that after Wakatobi was declared Man and The Biosphere by UNESCO, there was a surge in the number of visits. He reminded, the future challenge is to create sustainable tourism. According to Fauzi, things concerning cleanliness and sustainability of nature will be the attention of UNESCO in the future. In addition to Ciletuh Geopark, at the session the commission also declared Mount Rinjani, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara as the world Geoparks. Previously, Batur Geopark in Bali and Gunung Sewu Geopark have been declared as Global Geopark. In the future, Caldera Toba will be nominated as Global Geopark Network. (VOI/Sekar/DP)

The Indonesian government has issued dollar-denominated bonds and euro-denominated bonds worth US$1 billion each. The issuance of the bonds in dual currencies is the second of its kind since 2017, the Directorate General of Financing and Risk Management at the Finance Ministry stated in a press statement released on Wednesday. The 10-year dollar-denominated bonds series RI0423 due on April 24, 2028, were issued at a coupon of 4.1 percent.

The issuance of the bonds series RI0428 has demonstrated the government`s strong commitment to improve the liquidity of dollar-denominated bonds that can be traded to US investors. The seven-year euro-denominated bonds series RIEUR0425 due on April 24, 2025, were issued at a coupon of 1.75 percent.

The bonds series RIEUR0425 have the lowest coupon among euro-denominated bonds that the government has ever issued. The bonds series RIEUR0425 are the fifth foreign currency-denominated bonds and the first euro-denominated bonds issued by the government using SEC-registered format.

The bonds in double currencies have received a Baa2 rating from Moody`s, a BBB rating from Standard & Poor`s, and a BBB rating from Fitch. The issuance of the bonds came as a response to a positive momentum after Moody`s upgraded Indonesia`s sovereign rating on April 13, 2018, and the macro-economic condition showed signs of improvement.

The bonds will be listed at Singapore Stock Exchange and Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Acting as joint lead managers and joint book runners are Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman Sachs (Singapore) Pte, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, and Mandiri Securities Pte Ltd., with PT. Bahana Sekuritas, PT. Danareksa Sekuritas, and PT. Trimegah Sekuritas Indonesia Tbk being the co-managers. ( antara )

Indonesia`s premium quality furniture products exhibited at INDEX Exhibition at the Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), have attracted the markets and have been sold out at the fair. The Head of Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) in Dubai, Heny Rusmiati, stated that ITPC facilitated Jatra Design Furniture to participate in the exhibition, which was attended by one thousand participants from 50 countries.

"All Jatra Design Studio products that were brought to INDEX Exhibition have been sold out, including large conference tables, sofas, and guest chairs, with some buyers even recording repeat orders," Rusmiati noted in a statement received by ANTARA here on Tuesday.

Jatra Design Studio has also got some offers from furniture businesses in Oman, Saudi Arabia, and UAE to become a distributor in the Middle East region.

"One of the companies interested in becoming an agent is Almas Design, which is the largest furniture company in the UAE and has several outlets across the UAE," he remarked.

At the exhibition, Jatra Design Studio also made follow-up contacts with its UAE counterpart, Neocasa Interiors. The business relation of both companies was established in 2017. Neocasa Interiors is a leading UAE company that supplies furniture for the royal family in the country. The company wants to conduct further exploration to become an investor in Jatra Design Studio factory in Indonesia, especially in producing chipboard that is used for premium quality furniture products. Until now, both parties are still studying the contract document on investment cooperation.

"Jatra Design Studio has requested ITPC Dubai to facilitate the process, and we are ready to help," Rusmiati revealed.

INDEX Exhibition is the largest exhibition for furniture, handicrafts, and interior design products in UAE. About 100 potential visitors visited the Indonesian booth during the exhibition. The visitors were from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Lebanon, Kuwait, Iran, Australia, Macedonia, and some African countries. INDEX Exhibition is one of the entrances to become a supplier in infrastructure development in UAE.

"Currently, the UAE is conducting massive infrastructure developments, especially hotels and apartments, in order to welcome the World Expo 2020 Dubai. Therefore, this is an opportunity for Indonesian business players to market their products and expand business," he explained.

The total value of non-oil and gas trade of Indonesia and UAE in 2017 amounted to US$2.1 billion. The value of Indonesian exports amounted to $1.5 billion and imports amounted to $509.6 million. Thus, Indonesia has experienced a non-oil/ gas trade surplus of $1 billion. Of Indonesia`s total non-oil and gas exports to the UAE in 2017, furniture products contributed only 0.57 percent. Indonesia`s export of furniture to the UAE was recorded at only $10 million in 2016, or 1.2 percent of the total UAE furniture product imports from around the world at $820.30 million. ( antara )