VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (VOI News) - At least 734 Indonesian Citizens (WNI) were exposed to Covid-19 abroad according to data per Sunday (10/5). The Indonesian citizens are spread in 33 countries/territories and 20 cruise ships. It was stated by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi during a virtual press conference at the Graha National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) in Jakarta, Monday (11/05). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is coordinating with the Republic of Indonesia representatives abroad and local state/territory authorities to ensure that all Indonesian citizens exposed receive adequate health services in accordance with the local regulations. In this case, Retno also acknowledged that the magnitude of cases of protection of Indonesian citizens abroad during COVID-19 was unprecedented. Retno Marsudi promised, the government would continue to work to improve the protection of Indonesian citizens.

"The Government of the Republic of Indonesia and all Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia abroad have and will continue to increase efforts to protect Indonesian citizens as much as possible," said Minister Retno Marsudi.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi further said, in order to alleviate the most affected and most needy Indonesian citizens, the government had and would continue to provide food aid and other health needs assistance. She appreciated the initiatives of various Indonesian communities overseas who worked hand in hand with Indonesian representatives abroad in providing assistance to the most vulnerable and most affected citizens of the COVID-19 pandemic. (VOI / AHM edit r)

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin delivered an online speech to students at his residence in Jakarta on Sunday. ANTARA/HO-Vice Presidential Secretariat

Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin confirmed that the Indonesian government had readied several development programs to support the country's recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic that led the government to amend the focus of development in 2020.

"We have begun preparing recovery programs to return the country to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic scenario in accordance with the priorities we have drafted and launched," Amin noted in a written statement released on Monday.

The recovery programs will lay emphasis on economic sectors that bore the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, he remarked.

"(The programs) will prioritize sectors that have suffered the deeper impact of the pandemic, such as the economic sector, including medium-and large-sized businesses and micro and small businesses," he noted in his Ramadhan online speech to the Association of Indonesian Students (PPI).

Furthermore, the government will direct its attention to the handling of the poor since the COVID-19 pandemic had increased their number that is estimated to reach up to 40 percent of the population, he stated.

"We must make efforts to meet their needs and empower them to reduce the number of poor people in Indonesia," he noted.

Several countries have imposed an emergency policy to avert the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and economic sectors. Indonesia has aligned the focus of its development to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The COVID-19 pandemic goes beyond our capability. It has affected not only the health sector or human lives but also the social and economic sectors, including in our country," he pointed out. (ANTARA)

Acting Head of the North Sumatra Province One-Stop Integrated Licensing Investment Office Arief S Trinugroho in Medan on Sunday said Medan City, South Tapanuli Regency, and Deliserdang are listed as the most desirable areas of foreign and domestic investment investors to invest in the first quarter of 2020.According to him, the biggest foreign investment in the first quarter of 2020 was in South Tapanuli amounting to 4.984 trillion rupiahs. Then the second was in Medan which amounted to 130.320 billion rupiahs, and Deliserdang 15.225 billion rupiahs.He mentioned, the biggest contribution of foreign direct investment and domestic investment in the three regions or North Sumatra came from the electricity, gas and water, housing, mining, food, service, metal industry and plantation sectors. (Ant/trans by PUTRI)

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi condemned the inhumane treatment of Indonesian citizens working on ships owned by Chinese companies. Foreign Minister Retno said that when delivering an online press statement from Jakarta on Sunday. Because of the inhumane treatment, most of the total 46 Indonesian citizens who worked on several Chinese-flagged vessels asked to return to the country. The vessels are Long Xing 629, Long Xing 605, Tian Yu 8, and Long Xing 606. In fact, there were three Indonesian citizens who died on the ship and their bodies were buried at sea, and one Indonesian citizen died after being treated at a hospital in South Korea because of pneumonia. Based on information obtained by the Foreign Minister after speaking with 14 Indonesian crew members who were repatriated from South Korea on Friday (8/5), she noted a number of violations committed by the company namely the matter of salary and working hours that are not appropriate in the work contract. (Ant/trans by PUTRI)