VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia and Vietnam are commemorating 63 years of bilateral relations through fashion diplomacy at the 2018 International Fashion Fair in Vietnam, as stated in a statement from the Indonesian Embassy in Hanoi received by ANTARA in Jakarta, Sunday.

Through the Indonesian Pavilion at the Vietnam International Fashion Fair 2018, the Indonesian Embassy in Hanoi facilitates 34 national brands to promote their products.

The event is held on December 13-18 at the International Center for Exhibition (ICE) in Hanoi.

The Indonesian Pavilion at the 2018 Vietnam International Fashion Fair was opened on December 13, 2018 by the Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam, Ibnu Hadi.

The event was attended by ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions in Hanoi, representatives from Vietnamese ministries/agencies, the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, and the business community in Hanoi and the vicinity areas.

"The Indonesian Pavilion provides an added value and is one of the extraordinary models of fashion diplomacy," Ambassador Ibnu Hadi said.

He stressed that the Indonesian Pavilion could expand market for national products, become a place for creative ideas exchange, and help realize interests of the Indonesian fashion industries.

Ambassador Ibnu Hadi hoped that a mutually beneficial bilateral trade of Indonesia and Vietnam worth US$10 billion could be achieved by 2020.

In the first ten months of 2018, the value of bilateral trade between Indonesia and Vietnam reached US$6.3 billion, up from US$5.3 billion achieved in the same period in 2017.

In 2017, the total trade between Indonesia and Vietnam increased by 16.36 percent to US$6.5 billion, up from US$5.58 billion in 2016. (ANTARA)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Riau province will be benefited the most if the Trans Sumatra toll road is completed in 2024. When attending the Riau Community Cultural Show at the Pekanbaru Youth Center, Saturday (15/12), President Jokowi said that this was because the Trans Sumatra toll road will not only go through Riau, but also it will also connect Riau with the surrounding areas.

“Riau Province is very strategically located. If the Trans Sumatra toll road from Lampung to Aceh, in 2024 is completed, the most benefited from the existence of this toll road is Riau Province, especially Pekanbaru. Because the Trans Sumatra toll road not only connects Pekanbaru to Dumai, but also Pekanbaru to West Sumatra. This means that this area will grow rapidly. But be careful, this work is not easy without the support of the community,” said Joko Widodo.

The total length of the Trans Sumatra toll road from Lampung to Aceh reaches 2,700 kilometers. A number of toll road construction projects that are part of Trans Sumatra are in the process of finishing. One of the toll roadsto be inaugurated is the 140.8 kilometer toll road that connects Bakauheni to Tembanggi Besar. President Jokowi said that the construction of toll roads and other infrastructure is a prerequisite for a country to be able to compete with other countries. He said the construction of infrastructure in all corners of Indonesia will open access to the economic development of the regions where the infrastructure is built. (VOI/Ndy/trans by PUTRI/AHM)

The African continent has been one of the regions that has been the target of strengthening Indonesia's economic diplomacy in the past year. Following the instruction of the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, at the beginning of 2018, who emphasized Indonesian representatives abroad, especially in the African region, to expand economic cooperation. Senegal and Ivory Coast, are two countries currently opening opportunities for Indonesia in that regard. Charge de Affaires of business authority of the Indonesian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal, Didik Trimardjono, said recently, Senegal was a potential "Entrance Gate" for Africa for various Indonesian export products both non-traditional and non-strategic industries, such as food to textiles.

"I was summoned by the minister of Senegal's National Development Planning Board recently, he said that he wanted to explore a possibility of becoming an agent or distributor of what is called here, the Jakarta motorbike," said Didik Trimardjono.

Didik explained that for strategic products, for example, Senegal was recorded to have purchased CN235 type aircraft which are produced by PT Dirgantara Indonesia and it has committed to purchase ships, 10 locomotive train units and plans to purchase around 50 tank units. (KRBN / RETNO / AHM)

President Joko Widodo was present at the Riau Malay Customary Institution Hall, Saturday (15/12), in the city of Pekanbaru, to receive the customary title Datuk Seri Setia Amanah Negara from the Riau Malay Customary Society. The title was given to Jokowi based on Decree Number 33 / LAM RIAU / XII / 2018.

In his remarks, the President said tradition and culture are big capitals owned by the Indonesian people to achieve progress. All of these resources according to Jokowi, if put together, will become a source of energy for the progress of the nation.

He hoped, the progress of the era marked by technological advances in various fields, did not shift the cultural values ​​of the Indonesian people.

“We need that strength because our nation's greatest asset is unity in making leaps of progress.We need unity to advance our nation's great culture and civilization. With the unity and native culture of Indonesia, let us continue to move forward and not to move backwards. Continue to instill a love of indigenous Indonesian culture in the hearts of future generations. Do not let them forget the original identity of Indonesia. Do not lose their love for the traditions and culture of the nation,” said the president.

Previously, when the customary title was held at the Jakarta Presidential Palace, the Chairperson of the Riau LAM Daily Leadership Council Datuk Seri Syahril Abubakar conveyed the reason for giving Jokowi's customary title. One of them is because the Jokowi government have managed to deal with forest and land fires that have lasted for 17 years in Riau. Another reason is due to the success of the Jokowi government in returning the Rokan Block in six districts and cities in Riau that belong to Indonesia.

Not only that, the government has also decided the management of the Coastal Plains and Pekanbaru (CPP) blocks to be handed over 100 percent to the regions throughPPT Bumi Siak Pusako (BSP).

LAM Riau also respects the government policy that issued Presidential Regulation Number 86 Year 2018 concerning the Land of Objects for Agrarian Reform. Through this policy, the joint land is recognized and at the same time the certificate is issued. (VOI / Ndy / AHM)