VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The State-owned Airport Services Company, PT Angkasa Pura I, cooperates with PT Taman Wisata Borobudur Prambanan Ratu Boko / TWC (Persero) in order to support the operation of Yogyakarta International Airport in Kulon Progo district  and development of the ten priority tourism destinations.

The cooperation of the two state-owned enterprises includes creating tourism campaign to promote Yogyakarta, Solo and Semarang (or so-called Joglosemar). These three areas located in Central Java region are the main tourist attractions and priority destinations with the iconic Borobudur Temple.

"Angkasa Pura I has an airport and on the other hand TWC has tourism content. So we establish cooperation to attract more tourists," Angkasa Pura I Director of Marketing and Services Devy Suradji said in a written statement received by Antara here Sunday.

He noted that the cooperation allows the two sides to manage a tourism information center, holding joint promotion road trip and joint merchandising.

In addition, Yogyakarta Kulon Progo International Airport has several potential branding spots that can be utilized by TWC to promote tourism.

According to TWC President Director Edy Setijono, Joglosemar is the entrance of Yogyakarta and Central Java for tourists who visit the areas.

Joglosemar, he added, was also a favorite destination for tourists who participate in Java-Bali landline tour packages, and cruise ship tourists as they stop at Tanjung Emas Port, Semarang.

"However, currently accessibility is still a major problem to reach two million foreign tourists target in 2019," Edy said.

However, he is optimistic that the operation of Yogyakarta International Airport, which will become one of the largest airports in Indonesia, will become a new entrance for foreign and domestic tourists to reach the Joglosemar area.

Airport progress

The progress of the construction of the Yogyakarta International Airport, which is one of the National Strategic Projects (PSN), currently has reached 90 percent for the operational phase.

Meanwhile, the overall progress has reached 45 percent. The Yogyakarta International Airport will serve six international flights per day transferred from Adisutjipto Airport.

"International flights are expected to be operational by the end of April 2019. The flights are two flights to and from Singapore and four flights to and from Kuala Lumpur," Devy noted.

Yogyakarta International Airport is expected to be in full operation by the end of this year. With a terminal area of 210 thousand square meters and a runway of 3,250 x 45 meters long, this airport will be able to accommodate wide body aircraft.

In addition, this airport has a capacity of 14 million passengers per year, nine times bigger than that of Adisutjipto Airport. (ant)

 Indonesian President's Special Envoy to the Middle East and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Alwi Shihab hopes Indonesia will take up the Palestinian issue at the UN, especially in its capacity as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2019-2020.

"It is certainly better if there is an opportunity for improvement. Especially now, when we are very concerned about the situation in Gaza, and with President Trump recognizing Golan as part of Israel," Shihab said at the Embassy of Palestine in Jakarta on Thursday.

Shihab, who was interviewed on the sidelines of Palestine’s Land Day and the Isra’ Mi’raj celebration at the Embassy of Palestine, stated that Indonesia’s current position as a non-permanent member, which will assume presidency of the UN Security Council in May is strategic, as it could voice the rights of Palestinians on the international stage, along with Indonesia’s national interests.

“We expect Indonesia, who is a member of the UN Security Council, to call on (the world) and reject Trump for his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and Golan’s annexation, which are against international norms and laws,” he noted.

The former foreign affairs minister, part of President Abdurrahman Wahid's administration, added that Indonesia's support to Palestine is in line with the 1945 Constitution, which states that independence is a fundamental right for every nation.

Interviewed separately, Ambassador of Palestine to Indonesia Zuhair Al Shun appreciated Indonesia’s continuous support for Palestine’s independence, both bilaterally and internationally.

“Not only is Indonesia supporting our political interests on the international stage, but it is also preparing us to become an independent nation," said Al Shun.

Regarding Indonesia’s support at the UN, where Palestine is still an “observer", Al Shun hoped that Indonesia's presidency at the UN Security Council could benefit the Palestinian struggle, and help it become an independent state.

However, Al Shun was yet to answer whether Palestine would submit its candidacy as a member of the UN during Indonesia’s presidency in May 2019.

“Let's see the progress, but we certainly appreciate any kind of support from Indonesia,” he noted.  (ant)

 The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has persuaded Southeast Asian nations to reposition family farming viewed as a central tool in realizing the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger (SDG-2) by boosting food security.

"Let us make it clear that family farming is synonymous with Southeast Asia.  Through the empowerment of family farms and family farmers, we will be able help address the root causes of food insecurity and malnutrition in this region," FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, Kundhavi Kadiresan said here on Thursday.

Kadiresan delivered the statement at the opening session of the Regional Conference on Strengthening Southeast Asia Food Security, Nutrition, and Farmer Welfare through the UN Decade of Family Farming, with the Indonesian government covening the meeting.

Kadiresan pointed out that family farms play a predominant role in the production of most of the world's food, or some 80 percent, and are the biggest employment providers across the world.

"Family farms sustain productivity on, what is often, marginal land, and provides local consumers with fresh food, including poultry, livestock, fish, fruits and vegetables, along with other staple foods, which are critical to achieving good nutrition," she stated.

Nonetheless, the FAO pointed to the yet impoverished condition of several family farms that reel under the impacts of food insecurity. Smallholder farmers largely own a significant chunk of farmland of below five hectares in Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, farms are comparatively smaller, and a considerable majority of them occupy below one hectare of land.

Furthermore, family farmers, who particularly bear the brunt of rural poverty, have to encounter significant hurdles in getting access to credit, services, technologies, and markets that will assist them in boosting productivity of their natural resources and labor.

Another area of concern is that available agricultural sector employment opportunities are linked to less and unstable incomes, low levels of safety and health, gender pay and opportunity gap, and restricted social protection.

"Significant challenges pertaining to family farming and climate change, gender, youth and decent work call for taking a hard look at policies," Kadiresan remarked.

Hence, Kadiresan further emphasized the significance of innovating, providing access to rural credit, specifically for womankind, in addition to bringing about changes in the rural social protection programmes as the key to assisting Southeast Asia's family farmers boost their livelihoods and realize greater food security.

"Innovation is necessary for boosting the welfare of family farmers and strengthening their resilience. Innovation in policies and the enabling environment. Innovation in technologies, and innovation in institutions. Most importantly, family farmers must be at the heart of these innovations," she stated.

Identifying the principal roles of family farming, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that officially declared the 2019-2028 period as the Decade of Family Farming. The resolution has given acknowledgement to family farmers as the key leaders in the path to achievingg the world's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly to guarantee global food security, end poverty, eradicate hunger, conserve biodiversity, realize environmental sustainability, and assist to tackle migration. (ant)

Three new Marine Conservation Zones (KKP) in North Maluku were declared by Indonesia and the United States to commemorate seven decades of diplomatic relations between both nations, specifically in the marine and fishery sector.

"Indonesia's marine resources are the most unique in the world. When we mark the 70th anniversary of our relations with Indonesia, we reflect on the success in partnership in the course of several decades, including protecting the biological diversity and improving Indonesia's precious marine natural resources. The unified efforts remain crucial for sustainable earning, given our resources, and for the welfare of the current and future generations," US Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph R. Donovan Jr remarked during the declaration on Morotai Island District, here, Wednesday.

Donovan Jr and Deputy Governor of North Maluku Muhammad Natsir Thoib and Morotai District Head Beny Laos declared the three new KKP, spanning 226 thousand hectares, in North Maluku.

The USAID and Indonesia's Maritime Affairs and Fishery Ministry have cooperated for the implementation of the Sustained Ecosystems Advanced (SEA) project to boost fishery production and reinforce food resilience in the provinces of North Maluku, Maluku and West Papua.

Maritime Affairs and Fishery Minister Susi Pudjiastuti commended the decades-long cooperation between the governments of Indonesia and the United States.

The minister affirmed that the cooperation has assisted Indonesia in bolstering efforts to safeguard marine biodiversity in various regions.  (ant)