VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Ambassador of Brazil to Indonesia Rubem Antônio Corrêa Barbosa, Thursday in Jakarta stated the readiness of Brazil to continue to enhance bilateral cooperation between Brazil and Indonesia. He said that Indonesia is predicted to experience an increase in population to 340 million. According to him, this provides an opportunity for Brazil to cooperate in providing food for the Indonesian people who are also predicted to experience challenges in food production.

He also stated the readiness of Brazil to develop defense cooperation with Indonesia. He said that the two countries have strong reasons to hope that good relations between countries will continue to grow in the future.

"I think that would be another point of closeness between Brazil and Indonesia taking to count that Indonesian population would reach 340 million people in the coming decades and the space for the production of food would not be that huge. Brazil would be here for help. We already have considerable cooperation in the area of defense we would be glad to expand. Anyway, the prospects are good I think that after 6-5 years we have a lot to show and there is a strong ground for good hope in the relationship for the years ahead," said Rubem Antônio Corrêa Barbosa.

Regarding the economic cooperation, the total trade value between Indonesia and Brazil was recorded at 4.05 billion US dollars in 2014. This number increased by 4.8 percent compared to the previous year. While in 2017, bilateral trade between the two countries reached 3.12 billion US dollars, a relatively high achievement for the current world trend. The amount also shows good prospects in increasing the cooperation of the two countries.

In the first half of 2018, two-way trade reached 1.33 billion US dollars. In addition, in early 2018, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN) formed a special committee to improve trade relations with Brazil. With Gross Domestic Product of US $ 2.05 trillion and US $ 1.01 trillion respectively, Brazil and Indonesia still have space to increase untapped bilateral cooperation. (VOI/NDY/AHM)

Darianto Harsono, Deputy Director II of the Directorate of American II, Directorate General of American and European Cooperation, Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Thursday in Jakarta encouraged increased cooperation between Indonesia and Brazil. Related to this he mentioned that the two countries must pay attention to the strategic cooperation that has been running. He also encouraged to increase reciprocal visits between the two countries’ Heads of State, Ministers and senior officials to improve dialogue between the two countries.

While in the trade cooperation sector, Darianto underlined the importance of increasing the trade value that would improve the living standards of the two countries. He also highlighted the importance of holding visibility studies to increase the economic cooperation between the two countries. Besides that he also invited the community to increase the number of visits between the two countries.

"Both coutries in this regards should reflect on what strategic partnership means and in political patron we have to encourage exchange visit of the Head of States, Ministers and Senior Officials. On trade and economic sector we need to further strengthen our partnership that will bring economic and social benefit and improve the living standards of people of both countries. and it is also important to establish the trade visibility study for Indonesia in Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. specially in tourism sector. i would like to invite Brazil to work together to increase the visit to both countries," Darianto Harsono.

Furthermore, Darianto Harsono underlined the importance of promoting cooperation with Brazil. This is because Brazil is a strategic partner for Indonesia, especially in the South American and Caribbean regions. He also encouraged the two countries to maintain their commitment to revitalize and strengthen bilateral cooperation, including encouraging more meetings at all levels related to the implementation of joint action plans in strategic partnerships. (VOI/NDY/AHM)

United States Agency for International Development-USAID believes that civil society that represents citizens can assist in the process of policy formulation, service delivery and government oversight. The US government through USAID is honored to be able to contribute to the First Indonesian Civil Society Forum, which raised the theme 'Building Capacity to Ensure Sustainability', in Jakarta on Wednesday, (November 14). Expert Staff for Law and Democracy Reinforcement at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Haru Tamtomo, in his remarks said that the Indonesian and US governments have collaborated to create democratic governance through an agreement document dated 29 September 2014.

"The document of the cooperation agreement between the government of the Republic of Indonesia represented by the Ministry of Finance along with the Ministry of National Development Planning Agency and the United States government represented by USAID Indonesia was signed in the assistance agreement No. 497 on September 29, 2014. The cooperation agreement contains sebveral points; one of them is cooperation for pillars of DO or Development Objectives I, related to democratic government," Haru Tamtomo said,

Haru Tamtomo further said that although the terminology between civil society and mass organizations is often used simultaneously, actually the two terms are not the same, because Civil Society Organizations are defined as organized civil society and can take several forms, such as informal institutions without legal entities or formal institutions with legal entities. He said that at present, the number of mass organizations in Indonesia reaches 390,293 organizations or in a day there are around 50 to 100 new mass organizations formed and registered. A number of mass organizations have proven to contribute significantly to nation building starting from the colonial period to the present, such as Budi Oetomo, Islamic Law Society, Taman Siswa, Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama, and Catholic Women of the Republic of Indonesia. (VOI/Viqran/AHM)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has conveyed his support for the peace of South Korea and North Korea at the 20th ASEAN-South Korea Summit in Singapore.

"Amidst many uncertainties, there are some hopes. Among other things are hopes for a safe and stable Korean Peninsula. This new hope will not be possible unless there is strong determination from President Moon to seek peace," Jokowi said at the Suntec Convention Center on Wednesday.

According to the president, Indonesia welcomed the development of the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, and this is greatly appreciated by the world.

Indonesia has been a fellow country of the two Koreas since decades.

"Indonesia fully supports the peace process. This support has been delivered consistently, among others, during my meeting with the South Korean Prime Minister and North Korea`s Special Envoy ahead of the opening of the Asian Games on Aug 18," the president remarked in a statement delivered by the Deputy Protocol, Press and Media at the Presidential Secretariat, Bey Machmudin.

The president asserted that the peace process needs time to create peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Indonesia will remain committed to support and contribute to peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula, Jokowi added.

In particular, he also submitted a proposal to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to commemorate 30 years of cooperation between ASEAN and South Korea in 2019 if all positive developments continue.

"Hopefully, with this meeting, North Korea`s commitment to take steps towards a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula will be stronger. In the future, God willing, we will see ASEAN and the two Koreas as important pillars in the regional architecture of peace and partnership to maintain stability, security, and prosperity together," the president pointed out at the meeting.

Jokowi attended the 20th ASEAN-South Korea Summit, which was led by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Moon Jae-in.

The Head of State was also present at several ASEAN summits with partner countries, such as Australia, China, and Russia. (ANTARA)