VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Indonesia Jalal Mirzayev on Tuesday visited RRI Yogyakarta office and was received by RRI Yogyakarta Head Retno Desy Swasri. On the occasion of his visit, Ambassador Mirzayev also conducted an interview at ProSatu RRI Yogyakarta. Ambassador Mirzayev shared his meeting with the Governor of Yogyakarta (DIY) Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X in Kepatihan some time earlier. Both agreed to hold regular meetings every year.

"I had the opportunity to meet with his Majesty. My impression is quite extraordinary. We had a versatile conversation, how can we promote Azerbaijan in the province of Yogyakarta and vice versa, how can we promote the province of Yogyakarta in Azerbaijan. So we had delivered our position, so we have some points to be elaborated and we had agreed to meet annually to discuss for the benefit of our two countries,” said Ambassador Jalal.

Ambassador Jalal Mirzayev also said that in a meeting with Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X there was a desire, especially from the Sultan, to develop a twin city or Sister-city between Yogyakarta and one of the main cities in Azerbaijan.

"Baku is actually a multi-cultural city, we have Azerbaijanists, we have Russians, we have a lot of ethnic groups living in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. We have mosques, we have church. Azerbaijan is a multi-cultural society. So we have lived with all ethnic groups, shoulder and shoulder, to develop Azerbaijan. This is also one of the main points then we discussed with His Majesty for the possibility of having  Sister-City. We have worked on it and I think we are in the right track so we will succeed in having a sister city, Yogyakarta and one of the main cities in Azerbaijan," Ambassador further said.

According to Ambassador Mirzayev, Azerbaijan also wants to attract tourists from Indonesia to visit Azerbaijan, especially those who travel Umrah from Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, because the distance between Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan is only 2-3 hour flight. (RRI Yogyakarta/ MUNARSIH / AHM)

President Joko Widodo inaugurated the Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road sections II, III and IV, Tuesday (12/17/2019). The inauguration took place at the Samboja toll gate in Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan.  In his remarks, the President expressed his hope that the first toll road on the island of Kalimantan could increase connectivity both between communities and the mobility of goods. It is also hoped that the Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road will also be able to encourage the development of potential industrial areas in Kalimantan such as palm oil and coal. The President also said that this toll road would later accelerate access into the new capital region of Indonesia.

"So firstly, these toll roads will facilitate connectivity between the two growth centers in East Kalimantan, Samarinda city and Balikpapan city which are cities of business economic activity. Secondly, this toll road will also encourage production areas such as industries in the palm oil sector, coal oil gas commodities and agricultural commodities directly connected to the distribution area. Thirdly, this toll road will accelerate access to enter the area that we have decided, namely the national capital region," said the President.

President Joko Widodo has just inaugurated the Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road sections II, III and IV, with a total length of 57.8 km. Overall the Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road has a length of 99.3 km. The President is targeting the construction of the last two sections, namely sections I and V, to be completed in 2020.

Accompanying the President were Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono, Minister of State Enterprises Erick Tohir, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung and East Kalimantan Governor Isran Noor. (VOI / Ndy / AHM)

Director General of Plantation at the Agriculture Ministry Kasdi Subagyono (ANTARA)

Indonesia’s government is readying data to face the trial of a lawsuit it filed at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the European Union (EU) next week over the bloc’s restrictions on palm oil-based biodiesel.

Director General of Plantation at the Agriculture Ministry Kasdi Subagyono stated on Monday that the Agriculture Ministry and Trade Ministry had unitedly decided on a strategy to face the trial next week after the Indonesian government, through the Indonesian permanent representative in Geneva, had officially filed the lawsuit at the WTO against the EU on December 9, 2019.

"The Trade Ministry is coordinating (on the strategy) to face the trial. We only prepare technical data related to production. In principle, we are ready for the trial at the WTO next week. We have finalized the preparations," he remarked at a hearing with the House of Representatives’ (DPR’s) Commission IV.

The Indonesian government has filed a lawsuit at the WTO against the EU over Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II) and Delegated Regulation EU policies that discriminate against Indonesian palm oil.

The lawsuit mirrors the Indonesian government's resoluteness and commitment to challenging the EU's unfair restrictions and discrimination against palm oil through RED II and Delegated Regulation policies

Through the RED II, the EU will only allow the use of fuels from renewable energy between 2020 and 2030.

The Delegated Regulation that constitutes the implementation regulation of the RED II categorizes palm oil into the group of commodities with Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) of high risk.

Hence, palm oil-based biofuel is not incorporated into the renewable energy target in the EU.

Subagyono is optimistic that Indonesia would win the trial since the EU Commission does not use basic data from the Indonesian government.

The EU Commission on Monday, December 9, 2019, set duties on the import of Indonesian biodiesel fuel, from eight to 18 percent, akin to the provisional tariff proposed by the EU in August 2019.


"We must draft it (the strategy) first to see what we are going to sue and how the mechanism is. I cannot reveal the strategy for biodiesel now," Secretary General of the Trade Ministry Oke Nurwan remarked on the sidelines of a gathering to mark five years of the trade law in Jakarta recently.

The Indonesian government had earlier planned to levy retaliatory tariffs on the import of milk and its derivatives from the EU.

However, the government will be adopting the formal channel route in line with the trade dispute rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Nurwan stated.

The EU is determined to impose anti-subsidy import duty on Indonesian biodiesel over suspected subsidy viewed as being detrimental to the EU’s producers.

The European Commission has forecast that the biodiesel market in the EU would touch €nine billion, or US$10 billion. Indonesia supplies biodiesel worth an estimated €400 million to the EU.

In its press statement released by the European Commission, the EU leveled accusation against Indonesia of selling biodiesel fuels at lower prices. (ANTARA)

Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan attends a meeting with counterparts in the United Arab Emirates during his working visit to Abu Dhabi, Monday (Dec 16, 2019 (ANTARA)

Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan offered Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan an opportunity to invest in Indonesia's hydroelectricity power plant development. During his working visit to Abu Dhabi on Monday, Pandjaitan remarked in a statement received by Antara news agency in Jakarta that hydroelectricity power plants will be developed in the provinces of North Kalimantan and Papua. Apart from offering investment projects, Pandjaitan's working trip to Emirates also aims to prepare for the upcoming state visit of Indonesia's President Joko Widodo to the country in January 2020. During his upcoming state visit, Jokowi is scheduled to ink several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with leaders of UAE in the fields of energy development, health, education, and sovereign wealth fund management. On a similar occasion, both nations will also ink an MoU to support the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) to finance Indonesia's infrastructure projects.(ANTARA)