VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Yogyakarta - King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima Zorreguieta Cerruti of the Netherlands met with Sultan Hamengku Buwono X of the Yogyakarta customary sultanate at the Yogyakarta Palace, Wednesday.

King Willem and Queen Maxima arrived at the Yogyakarta Palace at around 10:52 a.m. local time. Sultan Hamengku Buwono's daughters -- Gusti Kanjeng Ratu (GKR) Condrokirono, GKR Maduretno, GKR Bendara, and GKR Mangkubumi -- greeted the King and Queen as they entered through the Keben gate.

The Sultan, in traditional customary attire and accompanied by his wife, Sultana GKR Hemas, then welcomed the King and Queen. The minister of public works and public housing was also seen at the meeting.

Sultan Hamengku Buwono X invited the two royals to the Gedong Jene side of the palace (Keraton), and after around 30 minutes, they exchanged souvenirs and posed for pictures in the foyer of Gedong Jene.

They were then invited to Bangsal Kencana, the royal hall, to witness a performance of the Beksan Lawung ageng dance that drew attention to the tale of the palace soldiers' spirit to train during the ruling era of Sultan Hamengku Buwono I.

Before ending their visit, King Willem and Queen Maxima were served lunch in the palace's Bangsal Manis.

Sultan Hamengku Buwono X of Yogyakarta stated that no special discussions between the royals were held and "only informal chats."

He further noted that King Willem-Alexander also reminisced about the visit he undertook with his mother, Queen Beatrix, to the Yogyakarta palace back in the day.

"This is his second time here. He visited for the first time with his mother, and now, he has come to visit with his Queen," he noted.

The Dutch royals' visit to the Yogyakarta Palace is a part of the state visit to Indonesia. The King and Queen had earlier met with President Joko Widodo at the Bogor Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday. (ANTARA)

Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag (ANTARA)

The Netherlands supports Indonesia to produce sustainable palm oil as was manifested in a memorandum of understanding inked by the Dutch Government to apply a program to enhance knowledge and technology of Indonesia’s palm farmers.

"That is the goal we want to achieve, specifically working with farmers to improve their knowledge and technology, teach them, and make them produce palm sustainably," Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag told Antara in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Kaag noted that the program can help Indonesia tackle the problems of deforestation and carbon emissions that might arise simultaneously as producing palm oil.

This undoubtedly should be built with awareness on sustainable development, taking into account the fact that palm oil is still a major export commodity for Indonesia, including while transitioning into a new economy.

"Hence, I believe in a transformative approach for which we had signed the contract last year. I am optimistic of greater progress being achieved in this program," Kaag remarked.

The scale of the program is viewed as being quite small to be able to cover all palm oil farmers in Indonesia.

To this end, Kaag has encouraged other parties, including the Government of Indonesia, to broaden the scope to conduct similar programs.

"That can be quite interesting. However, this could be what the European Union Government is on the lookout for," Kaag remarked.

The Netherlands imports some 25 percent palm oil, most of which is processed and then re-exported.

Kaag noted that the program offered a concept of how sustainable palm oil production can be implemented.

"I will encourage my friends at the Asian Development Bank and other big investors to ensure that this program is accelerated and implemented in other areas," she stated.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto had earlier stated that the issue of discrimination against Indonesian palm oil should not mar the country's multilateral relations with member countries of the European Union.

"I have highlighted that discrimination against palm oil exists, especially for biofuel or biodiesel, where Indonesia's market for biofuel in the European Union reaches US$650 million, while the total value of our trade with Europe reaches US$31 billion," he revealed.

Hartarto has accompanied President Joko Widodo while receiving the visiting European Union-ASEAN Business Board delegates. They held talks on potential areas of cooperation between Indonesia and corporations from European countries.

Hartarto believed there is potential for trade figures between Indonesia and the European Union to increase. He was also optimistic of the palm oil dispute being settled well. (ANTARA)

Workers picking tea leaves at the Bah Burung Tea Plantation, which will be the location for the 2020 National Tea Festival held on March 13-15, 2020.(ANTARA)

Tea lovers in Nagori Bah Butong I, Simalungun district, North Sumatra, will celebrate the Nusantara Tea Festival at Sidamanik Tea Plantation from March 13 to 15, 2020.

The festival will set up 1,200 tents to accommodate some 3,000 participants, Chairman of the Nusantara Tea Festival Nikson Faisal Sitohang said here on Tuesday.

Participating in the festival will be 40 communities from various areas in North Sumatra province and Aceh province.

Besides being the largest tea producer, Bah Butong in Sidamanik district also has tourist attractions, including ponds and waterfalls, as well as beautiful nature, Sitohang said.

He noted that during the festival, participants will learn about tea plants, tea production, and brewing tea.

Participants will also take a tour, enjoy some artistic and cultural entertainment, and draw lottery prizes.

Sitohang said he is optimistic that the three-day festival will have a positive impact on the economy of the local community.

For this reason, people were asked to open food and souvenir stands for visitors at the festival.

Sitohang also expressed his hope that sellers can offer reasonable prices and will not take too much profits at the festival.

"It is more about how to make the visitors feel satisfied and comfortable while visiting Sidamanik, and such satisfaction would make visitors come back here again," he stated. (ANTARA)

Environment Director of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Medrilzam during a discussion held in South Jakarta on Tuesday (ANTARA)

The development of the new capital city in East Kalimantan will encourage environmental conservation in the province, the Environment Director of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Medrilzam said. "We have the spirit to improve the ecosystem there. This is great momentum. Moreover, President Joko Widodo has committed himself to turn it into a forest city, and a sustainable and green city. This is a great chance to green the region again," she said at a discussion held in South Jakarta on Tuesday.

The government has decided to remove the seat of government from Jakarta to East Kalimantan. The new capital city will be built on 180 thousand hectares of land in Sepaku, North Penajam Paser District and Samboja, Kutai Kartanegara District, East Kalimantan.

The government plans to move the capital city to East Kalimantan in 2024.

The preparatory stage of the development of the new capital city has been started this year, including a master plan.

The development of the new capital city will offer a good chance to develop a wide range of natural vegetation as well as to re-green the location of the new capital city, she said.

If everything goes as planned, the environment in the new capital city will no longer be a problem since environmental conservation tops the list of the government's priorities in the city’s planned development, she said.

"There should no longer be a question about the environment of the new capital city since it is the first thing we will conserve. We all, not only the President but other parties as well, are committed to developing the new capital city into a livable city, she said.