VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews, Jakarta: The Indonesian Embassy in Vientiane spares no effort to invite Indonesian investors as well as to promote Indonesian products in Laos. Overshadowed by Indonesia's export deficit to Laos which reached USD 141 million, the Indonesian Ambassador to Laos Endah Grata Werdaningtyas in the Ranah Diplomasi program broadcast on the Voice of Indonesia YouTube account on Tuesday (13/02) said that Indonesian companies and business people need to actively invest in Laos.  "Laos is still the least developed country, so the approach must be for us to invest there, and we should open and facilitate our various companies and business players to invest, and we will continue to try to pursue this so that investment continues to be encouraged to balance the trade deficit," said Grata Endah.

In an effort to achieve balance in the export-import balance between Indonesia and Laos, Grata Endah conveyed the potential for investment development and market penetration of consumer goods in Laos. "Perhaps we can trade off the deficit due to imports of potassium or other minerals by increasing trade in other sectors such as consumer goods. "I see huge potential for Indonesian consumer goods, prices can be competitive, and its taste and packaging are also not inferior," she said.

The Indonesian Embassy in Vientiane sees that the Laos market is still dominated by products from Thailand, Vietnam, and China. Seeing these conditions, Grata Endah initiated Pojok Indonesia, or Indonesian Corner in shopping centers as a first step in introducing Indonesian products to the people of Laos. "I took the time to walk to several marts, shops, and even markets, indeed the presence of Indonesian products was still very minimal, and many products from Thailand, Vietnam, and China dominated. So now I am promoting daily consumption products by forming what we call the Indonesia Corner at the Supermarket in Viantine. "There will be a special corner for goods from Indonesia," she concluded.

VOInews, Jakarta: Indonesia-Laos trade volume reached USD194.2 million (in 2022), experiencing triple exponential growth from 2021, namely USD45.5 million (Data from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2023). However, Indonesia experienced a deficit of USD 141 million. The Indonesian Ambassador to Laos, Grata Endah Werdaningtyas, said that the deficit occurred due to the import of potassium, which is the basic ingredient for fertilizer.

"In recent years we have experienced quite a large deficit due to potassium imports," said Grata Endah Werdaningtyas to Voice of Indonesia on Tuesday (13/02) in Jakarta.

However, Ambassador Grata Endah sees the trade deficit as a positive thing from a macroeconomic perspective. "I view this as positive if we look at the macroeconomic picture because the potassium we import is the main raw material for making fertilizer and we know how our domestic fertilizer needs are very high, and of course, it will help our fertilizer industry," she explained.

Meanwhile, according to Grata Endah, potassium obtained from Laos is much cheaper than similar mineral products imported from other countries. "From the results of our research and records, importing potassium from Laos is 30 percent cheaper than importing potassium from several other countries that are further away, for example, Canada. "So this in terms of helping our domestic industry, in my opinion, even though there is a deficit, the end product from fertilizer itself will help our industry," she said.

VOInews, Jakarta: The friendship between Indonesia and Sudan was laid on the spirit of the Asian-African Conference in Bandung in 1955. The Asian-African Conference inspired Sudan to gain its independence in 1956. Along the way, Sudan experienced dynamics, one of which resulted in the separation of South Sudan from the Republic of Sudan in 2011.

Currently, Sudan has been hit by civil war due to the struggle for power since April 2023. The Indonesian Ambassador to Sudan, Sunarko, in an interview on the Diplomatic Corner program broadcast on the Voice of Indonesia YouTube channel, on Tuesday (06/02) said that the armed conflict in Sudan has been ongoing since its first strike 9 months ago, in mid-April 2023.

According to Ambassador Sunarko, now is a good momentum to increase the number of Sudanese students in Indonesia as a form of moral support for brotherly countries that are being hit by conflict. As a friendly country, Indonesia will not remain silent regarding the situation in Sudan. "So this is a good momentum, the right momentum for the Indonesian Government to increase the number of Sudanese students who will be accepted for Indonesian scholarships, both in the Dharmasiswa program and the Developing Country Cooperation (KNB) program," said Ambassador Sunarko to Voice of Indonesia on the YouTube channel. (06/02).

In 2023, nine Sudanese students received Dharmasiswa scholarships and the number of recipients will continue to increase. Sunarko further conveyed several programs that have the potential to be developed, including collaboration between universities such as lecturers and experts exchanges, especially in the fields of Arabic, Islamic studies, sharia finance, and the halal industry which is currently growing in Sudan. According to Ambassador Sunarko, scientific fields in Indonesia that are of interest to Sudanese students include management, information technology, and architectural studies. Ambassador Sunarko saw the need to provide scholarships as a form of Indonesian solidarity with Sudan.

Educational cooperation between Indonesia and Sudan is quite prominent and grows continuously. Ambassador Sunarko said that before the conflict occurred, there were around 1,100 Indonesian citizens, 900 of whom were students. Previously, Sudan provided 60 scholarship quotas for Indonesian students annually, and it has been increased to 100 scholarships since 2015 for undergraduate to doctoral levels. A total of 95 percent of Indonesian students in Sudan are scholarship winners (Data Media Indonesia, April 2023). (DANIEL/DEVY)

(LtoR) German and a Chinese flag are seen flying in the wind from the Chancellery, as the dome of the Reichstag building, which houses the German lower house of Parliament, can be seen in the background, in Berlin on June 19, 2023, during a visit of China's Premier to Germany. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP)

VOInews, Jakarta: China's top diplomat Wang Yi will visit Germany for the Munich Security Conference then travel to Spain and France in the coming days, Beijing's foreign ministry said Thursday.

"From February 16 to 21... Minister of Foreign Afairs Wang Yi will attend the 60th Munich Security Conference where he will deliver a speech," a spokesperson said in a statement. 

He will then visit Spain and France, where he will "hold the China-France Strategic Dialogue", they added.

The annual security gathering in Munich brings together military elite from around the world and is seen as a barometer of transatlantic relations. It starts on Friday.

Wang will use his speech there to "elaborate on China's propositions on building a community with a shared future for mankind and advocating an equal and orderly multipolar world", the foreign ministry said.

His visit to Spain will be the Chinese foreign minister's first there in six years, Beijing said.

China said the visit will "consolidate mutual trust, enhance friendship, promote cooperation and enrich the China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership".

Beijing also hopes to "deepen strategic communication, consolidate political mutual trust, advance practical cooperation and people-to-people and cultural exchanges" with France, it said.

Source: AFP