VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has made assurance that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will follow through on its plan to invest in Indonesia prior to 2019-end.

Crown Prince Syekh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will hold talks with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to discuss the follow-up of the agreements that both nations have reached, Pandjaitan noted in a press statement released on Monday.

"I have had direct communication with Crown Prince Syekh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who pledged to telephonically contact President Joko Widodo on Monday to discuss the follow-up of the agreements that we have made with dialog partners," he noted.

Pandjaitan admitted to the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince urging him to expedite the realization of several points in the agreements to facilitate the realization of some investment plans before the conclusion of this year.

The Crown Prince will also officially invite President Widodo to visit the UAE in January 2020 to attend the opening ceremony of Abu Dhabi Sustanability Week in Abu Dhabi.

Pandjaitan confirmed the receipt of a report by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani from Director General of Financing and Risks Management of the Finance Ministry Luky Alfirman and acting president director of PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (Persero) Edwin Syahruzad, who had also joined Pandjaitan during the visit to UAE last week.

Pandjaitan remarked that the finance minister had concurred to visit the UAE to further discuss the issue.

Among the agreements reached during Pandjaitan’s visit to the UAE comprised forming the Indonesian Sovereign Wealth Fund and implementing Abu Dhabi’s investment worth US$1 billion in property project and real estate, including the development of tourist destinations. (ANTARA)

Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Bambang Soesatyo has urged the Environment and Forestry Ministry to set up task force in each province to prevent land and forest fires.

"I urge the Environment and Forestry Ministry to set up a special task force in each region tasked with taking preventive steps to prevent land and forest fires," he said in Jakarta on Sunday.

In response to the historical record of land and forest fire cases, the ministry should take the initiative to set up task forces at a region level.The task forces are tasked with taking preventive steps to deal with land and forest fires, he said.

The task forces will be very ideal if their personnel are made up of central and regional government apparatuses, military and police personnel, customary community members and th Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) employees.

"It is very important for such task forces to coordinate with the BMKG to see the weather trend particularly during the dry spell," he said.

The ministry could map areas which need such task forces based om the historical record of land and forest fire cases and the behavior and attitude of the nearby community.

If the steps can be taken consistently and seriously the government regulation number 45 of 2004 will be able to prevent and reduce land and forest fires, he said (ANTARA)

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla arrived at Westin Hotel New York, Grand Central, US, on Saturday night local time to attend the annual meeting of UN General Assembly 2019 at the UN Headquarters.

Upon arrival at the hotel Kalla and spouse were welcomed by Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, Communication and Information Technology Minister Rudiantara, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan, and Ambassador Mahendra Siregar.

The vice president will lead the  Indonesia delegation to the meeting and will deliver a speech  titled "Galvanizing Multilateral Efforts for Poverty Eradication, Quality Education, Climate Action, and Inclusion."

During  the Jokowi-Kalla administration in  the period of 2014-2019, Vice President Kalla has always represented President Jokowi at  the event.

The 74th UN General Assembly 2019 will be attended by 100 heads of state/government, three representatives of state leaders, 47 prime ministers, three ministers, two delegation leaders, and 193 representatives from UN  member countries.

On the sidelines of the event, Kalla will hold several bilateral meetings, and join a gala dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump at Lotte New York Palace Hotel (ANTARA)

Director General of Plantations of the Agriculture Ministry Kasdi Subagyono

The government aims to achieve self-reliance in sugar production in 2024 by expanding plasma sugarcane plantations outside Java.

"The government will assist (sugarcane growers) in expanding plasma plantations by providing land, clearing land, and giving seed, fertilizers and technical guidance to them," Director General of Plantations of the Agriculture Ministry Kasdi Subagyono said in a press statement released on Sunday.

He said the country still has great potential to develop sugarcane plantations outside the densely populated island of Java.

Plasma sugarcane plantations have been developed in the provinces of Lampung, West Nusa Tenggara, Southeast Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara and South Sumatra.

He further said the government will also cooperate with companies near plasma sugarcane plantations in providing technical guidance to farmers who will be engaged in sugarcane farming in the plasma land.

Data from the Directorate General of Plantations show domestic sugar consumption reaches an average of 2.8 million tons per year, while national sugar production stands at 2.5 million. To meet sugar needs, the country imports 300 thousand tons of sugar per year.

As a follow up to the directives of the agriculture ministry, the government plans to build 15 more sugar mills between 2020 and 2024 to meet industries' sugar needs estimated at 3.2 million tons in 2029 (ANTARA)