VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has appointed Indonesia to host the U-19 Asia Cup 2020 qualification scheduled from November 2 to 10, 2019.

The All-Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) warmly welcomed the AFC's decision, the association said on its official website on Friday.

"PSSI lauds the AFC's decision. As one of the countries with the highest enthusiasm over world football, we are determined to welcome the Asian public's trust by preparing well for the event," PSSI Secretary General Ratu Tisha Destria said.

Indonesia will not only serve as the venue of the U-19 Asian Cup 2020 qualification but has also been endorsed as one of the hosts of the U-16 Asia Cup 2020 qualification scheduled for September 14-22, 2019.

For the U-19 Asian Cup 2020 qualification, Indonesia, along with Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam will host the event for the east zone, while Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan will host the event for the west zone.

 Indonesia encouraged concrete cooperation among Asian countries during the 16th Ministerial Meeting of Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) held in Doha, Qatar, recently.  

"There must be concrete cooperation from which the people of Asian countries can benefit to answer the challenge of the age," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in the press release of the Foreign Ministry issued on Wednesday.

The ministerial meeting themed "Partners in Progress" brought together ministers and top officials from 34 ACD member states. They discussed ways to enhance cooperation to address various issues of mutual concern including connectivity, education, food security, energy, water, culture, tourism, and sustainable development.

The meeting agreed upon, among others, the importance of enhancing cooperation in the energy field to create resilience, accessibility and sustainable practices in the energy field.

"I reiterate the commitment of Indonesia as co-prime mover of ACD in the energy field by promoting cooperation in the development of renewable energy. This is in line with the national policy related to the efficient use of new and renewable energy," she said.

To that end, the Indonesian government plans to host ACD Ministerial Meeting on Renewable Energy in the second half of 2019. Hopefully, the meeting will be able to create opportunities for ACD member states to cooperate in the development of new and renewable energy including investment and capacity building.

The 16th ACD Ministerial Meeting agreed on various efforts to promote ACD including formulating the standard structure and mechanism of ACD Secretariat, and synergy between ACD and other regional forums.

The ACD Ministerial Meeting this time is a historical momentum in line with the admission of Palestine as a new member.

During the course of the ACD Ministerial Meeting, the Indonesian foreign minister also held talks with her Thai and Malaysian counterparts to coordinate the three countries' steps to encourage cooperation within the framework of ACD to become more effective. (ant)