VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - PT PLN (State Electricity Company) Group bagged cooperation opportunities with seven companies from China. The cooperation to expand the electricity business and accelerate the New Renewable Energy (EBT) plant was agreed at the Indonesia-China Business Forum in Beijing, Wednesday (18/10).

PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo explained that his party has made many business transformations. One of them is by forming a subholding, where opportunities for business expansion and asset optimization become greater.

Not only becoming an electricity provider company, through this transformation PLN has set a target to become a world-class integrated electricity company.

"With the formation of subholding, it will be more agile and agile to develop its business. Through technological adaptation, PLN not only optimizes business processes but also makes challenges into opportunities," Darmawan said.

This transformation is also in line with the acceleration of achieving the Net Zero Emission (NZE) target. For this reason, cooperation with various companies in China is a comprehensive strategic paddle.

"For this reason, PLN made a business trip to China which became the most meaningful trip in PLN's history. We believe there will be significant changes in Indonesia with technology and human resource capacity through collaboration in developing the electricity sector with China," Darmawan said.

PLN's cooperation with seven companies in China is a significant step in supporting Indonesia's efforts to adopt renewable energy technology, reduce carbon emissions, and expand green energy capacity. This can also help increase access to environmentally friendly and sustainable energy for the people of Indonesia.

The seven MoUs signed by the PLN subholding are divided into three sectors, namely EBT acceleration, power plant operation and maintenance services, and business outside electricity (Beyond KWH).

For EBT acceleration, PLN Nusantara Power (PLN NP) signed an MoU with China Datang Overseas Investment Co., Ltd. in developing the potential for renewable energy utilization.

Furthermore, PLN Indonesia Power (PLN IP) signed an MoU with Shandong Electric Power Engineering Consulting Institute Corporation, Ltd. (SDEPCI) in a partnership related to a joint study of plans to develop Wind Power Plants (PLTB) in Indonesia.

PLN IP also signed an MoU with Hongkong Ocean Investment Development Co., Ltd. in a development study (EBT) in Indonesia. Still in the realm of EBT acceleration cooperation, PLN IP also signed an MoU with HBA Offshore Pte., Ltd. and GCL Intelligent Energy (SUZHOU) Co., Ltd. in the study of EBT plant development in Indonesia.

Furthermore, PLN Enjiniring signed an MoU with Envision Energy Co., Ltd. to cooperate in technology consulting and EBT plant development projects in Indonesia.

Furthermore, in power plant operation and maintenance services, PLN NP signed an MoU with GD Power Development Co., Ltd. to conduct a study of potential cooperation by developing business in the field of power plant operation and maintenance services.

Finally, to support Beyond kWh, PLN Icon Plus signed an MoU with PT China Mobile Indonesia in the provision of smart home systems including: Smart home device, Set Top Box, and smart home system platform with managed service scheme. (PLN)

VOI, Jakarta - Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has said that the Israeli occupation forces' ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip is not an act of self-defense, but a genocidal campaign against Palestinians.

"The world regards what Israel has been doing (to Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 2023) has gone beyond an act of self-defense. Instead, it has been a genocide," he added.

After inaugurating a Citra Borneo Indah (CBI) Group project in Central Kalimantan province, he said that Indonesia and several members of the United Nations Security Council have agreed to call for an immediate end to the "genocide."

To comprehensively resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, whose root cause rests in Israel's prolonged occupation of the Palestinian territory, the two-state solution can again be pushed forward, Amin added.

Indonesia and many other UN member countries are continuing to push the two-state solution through diplomatic efforts at UN forums. However, the UN forums have yet to execute the solution, he said.

The United Nations' failure to implement the two-state solution is always related to the United States and Israel's rejections, he pointed out.

Regarding efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip, Amin said that Indonesia and many other countries have continued to push for unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to the overcrowded enclave.

"We have called for safe and uninterrupted flow of aid trucks into Gaza from Egypt's Rafah border crossing," he added.

Fresh armed conflict erupted between Israel and Palestine again following a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel early in the morning on October 7.

Prior to the assaults by Palestinian liberation fighters, Israel had continued its closure of Gaza crossings.

Palestine's news agency WAFA reported on September 25 that the Israeli closure of Gaza crossings had worsened the living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza.

According to WAFA, the Palestinians had already suffered from the severe impact of "more than 17 years of tight Israeli land, sea, and air blockades."

Al Jazeera quoted Hamas, which governs Gaza, as saying that its assault on Israel was "a response to the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence."

In response to the unprecedented surprise attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on Hamas and, according to Al Jazeera, pledged that the Israeli forces would "turn all Hamas hideouts into rubble."

Since then, the Israeli occupation forces have continued to bombard Gaza. Since the start of the war, at least 6,456 Palestinian civilians have been killed, while Israel has lost at least 1,400 citizens.

Israel has also implemented collective punishment in its efforts to crush Hamas in the Gaza Strip by cutting off supplies of food, water, fuel, and electricity to the besieged enclave, which is home to around 2.3 million people.

In the midst of the Israeli preparation for a wide range of military operations in Gaza, pro-Palestinian rallies have broken out around the world, calling for an immediate end to the ongoing violence against Palestinians.(Antaranews)

VOI, Jakarta - Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) will run undersea cables powering internet access to at least eight far-flung Pacific Ocean nations under a joint U.S.-Australian deal set to be announced on Wednesday, according to a U.S. official.

The deal will expand an existing commercial project by Google in the region to the nations of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Set to be announced during an official White House visit by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the previously unreported deal involves contributions from both governments.

Canberra will contribute $50 million and Washington is adding another $15 million, according to a senior administration official.

The tiny and sometimes isolated nations of the Pacific have become an area of intense focus in recent years, with both China and the United States courting them with infrastructure development and military partnerships.

President Joe Biden has also pushed for U.S. dominance in telecommunications services, seeing the industry as a key national security issue given the control it affords over information flows worldwide.

Google is currently working on a fiber-optic cable that links Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by China, with the Philippines and the United States.

As part of the Pacific islands project, the United States will work with the countries on cybersecurity resilience, helping them back up key information to global cloud networks, according to the official. (Reuters)

VOI, Jakarta - New Zealand’s Prime Minister-elect Christopher Luxon said on Wednesday that negotiations were ongoing with potential coalition partners ACT New Zealand and New Zealand First, as the country awaits final results of the general election.

Luxon’s conservative National Party and preferred coalition partner ACT won a one-seat majority in the general election Oct. 14. However, this majority could be eroded after special votes are counted and final results are released Nov. 3.

“What we're doing between now and the third of November is progressing relationships and arrangements with both parties,” Luxon told state-funded Radio New Zealand on Wednesday.

He said once special votes are counted, the parties will move quickly to form a government.

“Unfortunately, this will take as long as it takes in order to be able to get a good agreement and good trust and a strong base and a good government,” Luxon added.

Special votes are ballots cast for example by electors overseas or by those who enrolled on the day of the election.

New Zealand is currently being governed by a caretaker government run by the previous Labour government. (Reuters)