VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Military (TNI) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces have resolved to forge military cooperation.

This was apparent when TNI Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto received a courtesy call from the Chief of the UAE Armed Forces, Lt. Gen. Hamad Mohamed Thani Al-Rumaithi at the TNI Headquarters in, Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Tuesday.

This is the second visit of the UAE Armed Forces chief to the TNI Headquarters, Chief of Information and International Affairs of TNI Information Service Col. Aguis Cahyono said.

"The visit is aimed at forging defense and military cooperation between the two countries," he said. (ANTARA)

State-run explosive manufacturer PT Dahana (Persero) will construct an explosives plant in Timor Leste in 2020.

The company's President Director, Budi Antono, affirmed that development of the plant is part of its plan to expand business to ASEAN nations.

"Timor Leste has offered this to us. If we do not take the offer, then New Zealand and Australia will. This is a good opportunity for PT Dahana," Antono remarked at a discussion here on Tuesday.

In spite of its comparatively small investment of some Rp15 billion, development of the plant is an attractive expansion, as its products are open for export to New Zealand and Australia.

Timor Leste will build a port and open mines for which it will require explosives in its development.

Antono explained that for road construction, it would be more efficient to build a tunnel than cut along the face of hills, taking into account the country's mountainous geographical terrain.

The explosives plant is expected to have an annual production capacity of up to one thousand tons.

Construction of the plant will take at least a year to complete, he stated.

PT Dahana is a state-run company operating in the explosive industry as well as military equipment, such as rocket and bullets. (ANTARA)

Indonesia has been seen to begin implementing the concept of circular economy that can proffer social, economic, and environmental benefits to the nation.

"We believe the concept of a circular economy is an answer that at the same time touches on social, economic, and environmental benefits in Indonesia," Secretary-General of the Packaging and Recycling Association for Indonesia Sustainable Environment (PRAISE) Mignone Maramis remarked at the press conference of the "3rd Indonesia Circular Economy Forum" (ICEF) in Jakarta, Monday.

To this end, he affirmed that Indonesia should divert its focus on those employed in the informal sector, such as scavengers, who can support implementation of the circular economy.

It is also suggested that Indonesia take a cue from different practices applied by developed countries.

"However, Indonesia yet requires to adjust to the context of the situation and its priorities; it still needs time. In Europe alone, several decades are needed. In Indonesia, waste management may have been underway though not optimally," Maramis stated.

Circular economy translates to optimal utilization of goods. The concept of a circular economy strives to maintain product value, so that it can be used repeatedly without producing waste, or zero waste, in three ways: recycle, reuse, and re-manufacture.

PRAISE, as an association of production and packaging companies comprising six members -- Coca Cola, Danone, Indofood, Nestle, Tetrapak, and Unilever -- has been implementing this concept by cooperating with several garbage banks, trash disposal sites, local governments, as well as ministries and institutions.

On the same occasion, Bert Keesman, a representative of the Dutch companies in Indonesia, stated that the Netherlands had outlined a target to achieve 70 percent of the implementation of the circular economy in 2030 and is expected to achieve 100 percent of its implementation in all fields by 2050.

"Currently, the Netherlands is able to recycle 80 percent of its waste, while 13 percent is yet in the process of incineration, and three percent of which we must admit is yet ending up in landfills. On the other hand, we are happy that increasingly more number of Dutch companies are moving towards the concept of circular economy," Keesman stated. (ANTARA)

The domestic food and beverage industry will grow eight percent at the end of 2019, falling short of the target of nine percent, the Industry Ministry has stated in its projections for the year. "I hope the growth will still be above eight percent. It seems difficult to reach nine percent, more so because it is still affected by (the growth) in the first semester of 2019," Director General of Agro-Industry of the Industry Ministry Abdul Rochim said in Jakarta Monday.

The food and beverage industry only grew 7.4 percent in the first semester of 2019, well below the target of nine percent due to the general elections, he said.

"As we know there were legislative and presidential elections in the first semester so investors put their plans on hold. They still wanted to wait and see. It began to show significant growth only after the first semester," he said.

"The growth rose significantly in the third quarter of 2019, reaching 8.33 percent. Hopefully, it will continue to grow in the fourth quarter of 2019," he said.

Cumulatively, the food and beverage industry grew 7.72 percent until the third quarter of 2019.

"In the fourth quarter there will be Christmas and New Year Eve celebrations so they will likely push up the growth," he said. (ANTARA)