Jakarta - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi held a meeting with several Vietnamese businesspersons in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday to drive greater two-way investment between both nations.

At a meeting with Traveloka Country Market Manager for Vietnam Huynh May Thy, the minister vowed to encourage Indonesian airline companies to open a direct flight route between Indonesia and Vietnam.

"I have communicated and will continue to do the same with the Vietnamese foreign minister to facilitate licensing of the direct flight route for Indonesian airline companies," she noted in a written statement released on Thursday.

Moreover, the government has encouraged ways to boost air connectivity between Indonesia and Vietnam by launching a direct route connecting Ho Chi Minh City to Bali in 2019.

The new direct flight route has contributed to a 20-percent increase in the number of Indonesian tourists visiting Vietnam and a 21-percent rise in the number of Vietnamese tourists to Indonesia.

Traveloka pointed to the limited choices of direct flights contributing to steep air tickets. It is believed that the opening of the direct flight route by the Indonesian airline company will have a noteworthy impact on the number of tourist arrivals.

In the meantime, at a meeting with General Director of Hai Nam Co. Ltd Nguyen Thi Thu Sac, the Indonesian minister vowed to encourage Indonesian fishery companies to step up their exports to Vietnam.

Last year, Ha Nam Co. Ltd had imported fishery products, valued at nearly US$2.5 million, from Indonesia. "Apart from increasing its Indonesian fishery products, Indonesia also expects Hai Nam Co. Ltd. to make a joint venture investment with an Indonesian company to build a fish processing plant in Indonesia," the minister noted.

To this end, the Indonesian government has invited the chairman of Hai Nam Co. Ltd. to visit Indonesia to witness up-close the fishery potential in several areas, including Natuna.

Traveloka began expanding its business in several Southeast Asian nations in 2015, making it one of the Indonesian unicorns expanding its business in Vietnam. Traveloka continues to dominate the market for online-based travel applications, with high demand in the aviation sector.

Hai Nam Co., Ltd is a private fishery company established in 1982. It currently employs some 2,500 workers and exports seafood to the United States, Japan, Europe, and Taiwan. (ANTARA)

Jakarta - The rupiah exchange rate traded among banks in Jakarta on Thursday morning strengthened following the signing of the long-awaited phase one trade agreement between the United States and China on Wednesday (Jan 15).

The Indonesian currency’s response to the trade deal was positive, increasing by 56 points, or 0.41 percent, to Rp13,639 against the US dollar, while the earlier rate was recorded at Rp13,695 against US dollar.

"The US-China trade deal may contribute to the spike in the rupiah exchange rate," Samuel Aset Mangement Head of Research Lana Soelistianingsih noted in Jakarta.  

She forecast that the rupiah would today hover in the range of Rp13,660 to Rp13,690 against the US dollar.

Following the trade deal inked by President of the United States Donald Trump and Vice Premier of China Liu He in Washington D.C., the latter country promised to import US-manufactured goods, worth US$200 billion, for the subsequent two-year period, one of which include US$40 billion worth of agricultural products.

Despite the deal, the US will retain the tariff imposed on some of China's goods until the signing of the phase two trade deal that had yet to be decided by both nations. (ANTARA)

Jakarta - Indonesian Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto has dispatched a special team to examine and handle the spread of anthrax in Ponjong and Semanu Subdistricts in Gunung Kidul District, Yogyakarta Province.  

"My team has been deployed in the district because the spores are there. We are directly monitoring and examining that," he told journalists at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta Thursday while commenting on the spread of anthrax in Gunung Kidul District.

In helping to cure those who tested positive, the health ministry supplied antibiotics, he said and added that anthrax might have infected several residents who consumed the meat of a dead cow.

On January 4, 2020 the health workers found that 600 residents of the two subdistricts could have been affected by anthrax, and 78 of them were observed to have the clinical features of this disease, Head of the Disease Prevention and Control Unit at the Gunung Kidul Health Office Sumitro said.

The local health authorities sent the blood samples of the victims for tests. The result showed that 27 people had tested positive to the disease, he told journalists.

The infected residents had been administered antibiotic prophylaxis for 20 days, and were required to undergo another blood test at Bogor city's BBVEt facilities in West Java Province, Sumitro said.

The residents who were suffering from the general signs and symptoms of this anthrax were just administered an antibiotic, he said, adding that the infected residents were not isolated because the disease was not contagious.

"Anthrax is a major cause of fatalities in cattle, sheep, goats, camels, horses, and pigs throughout the world," the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated.

It had caused the death of the owner of the infected cow because he had consumed meat of the dead cow and regularly cleaned the cattle cage, Sumitro further said.

In halting the spread of the disease, the district's health authorities had closely coordinated with those from the Food and Agriculture Office regarding education and public awareness campaign programs.

"We have also disseminated information to the people at large urging them to cook all meat properly, and not to consume the meat of ailing animals," he added.

The anthrax poisoning cases have repeatedly occurred in certain parts of Indonesia over these past few years. But, according to Widagdo Sri Nugroho, a University of Gadjah Mada (UGM)'s veterinarian, "anthrax is found in almost all countries."

He was quoted by the UGM's official website (2017) as saying that "Of 180 states that join veterinary health organizations, anthrax is found in 94 percent of states. In Indonesia, it has been identified since 1884 in Teluk Betung, Lampung."

Some 22 provinces in Indonesia are endemic, Nugroho noted. In handling the disease, farmers need to be aware of their cattle's condition and are urged to contact veterinarians who would examine their cattle for any indications of anthrax, he added. (ANTARA)

Natuna - Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security, Mahfud MD monitored Natuna waters, using the Indonesian Warship (KRI) Semarang 594 during his visit to Natuna on Wednesday (15/1). Besides,  he also witnessed the F-16 fighter aircraft maneuver  which secures the waters of Natuna in Ocean operations activity.  After witnessing the maneuver of the main equipment of both the sea and air weapons systems, Minister Mahfud MD was accompanied by Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Edi Prabowo along with entourage of TNI officers and the Indonesian Police conducted a limited meeting on the KRI. The limited meeting was also attended by  Acting Governor of Riau Islands, Isdianto and Natuna Regent, Abdul Hamid Rizal. Minister Mahfud MD in a press conference  explained that his visit to Natuna was related to efforts to improve security in northern Natuna waters.

“Firstly, Presidential Instruction is that the patrol volume is increased.  Symbolically, it has been shown the readiness of the patrol that passed before the gentlemen; there are so many ships. Then next, the government coordinates across ministries and across institutions as well as central relations with the regions related to the management of Natuna,” said mahfud MD.

In addition, Minister Mahfud MD also held dialogue with Natuna fishermen regarding with issues of the placement of north coast fishermen to Natuna waters. The dialogue with the fisherman representatives was held at the Lampa Strait Integrated Marine and Fisheries Center, Pulau Tiga District on Wednesday afternoon (15/1). In initiating the meeting with fishermen, the minister also reviewed the infrastructure of the Center for integrated Maritime and Fisheries and the fishery control ships. (Marjani-AF)