VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews, Jakarta: Cooperation between Indonesia and France in the field of education, between universities and research institutes of both countries will be stronger. This was conveyed by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Suharti at the 13th Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting in the field of higher education, research and innovation which took place at Surabaya State University (Unesa) from 2 to 5 July 2024. "Through the cooperation between the two countries in conducting the JWG on a regular basis, cooperation in the fields of higher education, research, and innovation can be even stronger. Relationships between countries, including networks between universities in both countries and research institutions can be stronger," said Suharti in Surabaya on Wednesday (3/7).

Suharti added that the cooperation between Indonesia and France is expected to encourage the achievement of better educational outcomes and research results that can be utilised by both countries. "We also hope that cooperation in the field of culture, especially through the role of universities, can also be strengthened," she added.

Regarding the strengthening of the Merdeka Learning Campus Merdeka (MBKM) programme, Suharti said that the Indonesian Government appreciates the support of the French Government in facilitating access to cooperation with universities in France to be able to accept Indonesian students who pursue education in France through the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) and IISMA Co-Funding programmes.

On the same occasion, French Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and ASEAN, Fabien Penone, said that cooperation between Indonesia and France has been going on for a long time. "Cooperation in science has been going on for a long time between Indonesia and France. However, today we have to face new challenges, including the digital economy, biodiversity, and social science. We believe that what we need to develop to face these challenges is networking. We want to continue to strengthen our network with key actors in Indonesia to better understand and explore cooperation in education and science in Indonesia," Ambassador Fabien said.

Fabien said that the French government is open to welcoming more Indonesian students to visit and study in France. "This is a priority for us and of course, to achieve this, we are also working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. This is a priority that our President conveyed to President Joko Widodo," said Fabien.

Furthermore, Fabien revealed that Indonesia is one of the most important partners for France. France has a great interest in learning from Indonesia. "This is why our universities and research institutes are very happy to collaborate with Indonesia. The key word is partnership. We hope to establish long-term, not just short-term, co-operation between the two countries. We want to cooperate with Indonesia for a very long time," he said.

Meanwhile, the Rector of Surabaya State University, Nurhasan, said that to achieve the vision of a Golden Indonesia 2045, the Indonesia-France JWG is very important to encourage collaboration to create superior human resources.

Furthermore, Director of Europe I, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Widya Sadnovic, revealed that France has been a strategic partner of Indonesia for a long time. She added that the implementation of the JWG is one of the important implementations of the Plan of Action on Strategic Partnership between Indonesia and France signed in 2021. "Politically, the cooperation has been very close. Our task now is to continue to fill it in, one of which is with cooperation in the fields of economy, education and research," Widya concluded.

Source: Kemdikbud RI

VOInews, Jakarta: Implementing a green economy can support national economic growth of more than 6% and create more than 4.4 million jobs by 2045. Green economy is one of the supporting factors for economic transformation to get out of the middle income trap. This was conveyed by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto in his virtual speech at the opening of the Green Economy Expo 2024, themed "Advancing Technology, Innovation and Circularity", in Jakarta on Wednesday (3/7).

"The implementation of the green economy in the long term is projected to stabilise economic growth at an average of 6.22% until 2045, reduce emissions by 86 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent and create up to 4.4 million jobs," he said.

According to a written statement from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, obtained by Voice of Indonesia in Jakarta on Thursday (4/7/2024), there are two opportunities that can be exploited in developing a green economy. "The first opportunity is the transition of existing economic activities. In the energy sector, transition efforts are directed through the application of new and renewable energy such as solar, wind, hydro and biomass energy," the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs wrote.

The green and circular economy will help industries in Indonesia to be competitive in terms of sustainability. "Currently, there are 152 companies that have Green Industry Certificates, and of course the number is expected to increase in the future. These Green Industry Certificates provide economic benefits, including energy savings worth Rp 3.2 trillion per year and water savings worth Rp 169 billion per year," he continued.

The second opportunity is to create new economic growth centres through the development of innovative circular sectors and activities, including sustainable natural resource-based industries or bio-economy, blue economy and waste utilisation. "As one of the megabiodiversity countries, the bio-economy industry in Indonesia has great potential for development. The government has developed 22 special economic zones (SEZs), which need to be encouraged to adopt green and circular economy principles so that they can be widely recognised and attract green investment," said the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs.

It is known that many start-ups and new companies have emerged whose core business is based on the 9R principles of circular economy, namely Refuse - Rethink - Reduce - Reuse - Repair - Refurbish - Remanufacture - Recycle - Recover. The startup is an innovation of creative young people, who see an opportunity gap in the implementation of the circular economy and green economy. "MSMEs can also be the main actors in the transition to a circular economy. For example, repair businesses, used electronics collection and waste recycling businesses. Both start-ups and MSMEs need mentoring and financial support for their business development to grow big and contribute significantly to the national economy," Airlangga said.

Airlangga also welcomed the launch of the Circular Economy Roadmap and Action Plan and the Food Waste and Waste Management Roadmap. "These two documents will be a milestone for the future of Indonesia's green and sustainable economy, which will benefit both society and the archipelago's nature," Airlangga concluded.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut B. Pandjaitan giving his remarks at The 5Th Global Dialogue from The Global Ocean Accounts Partnership on Thursday (04/07/24), (Photo : Kemenkomarves) - 

VOInews, Bali : Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut B. Pandjaitan attended the High Level Dinner The Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development (The 5Th Global Dialogue from The Global Ocean Accounts Partnership), Thursday (4-7-2024).

On this occasion, Coordinating Minister Luhut delivered a warm welcome to the delegates who had arrived in Bali. Today people from all over the world come together, united by a common goal, namely to ensure healthy and thriving oceans for future generations.

“The ocean is not just a vast expanse of water, it is the source of life for our planet. It regulates our climate, gives us food and has enormous economic potential,” he explained.

Today's oceans face unprecedented challenges, from overfishing and pollution to climate change and habitat loss. These threats not only endanger the ocean itself but also the well-being of humanity.

"This dialogue is proof of our collective commitment to overcoming these challenges, we have shared knowledge, explored innovative solutions, and forged new partnerships, we recognize the importance of action and the need for collaboration," said Coordinating Minister Luhut.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Thursday (04/07/24), the path to ocean sustainability requires sustained dedication, unwavering determination and a willingness to collaborate across borders, disciplines and sectors. Therefore, let's turn our knowledge into action and our plans into real initiatives.

Ideas that can be developed and implemented, especially in developing countries, are urgently needed.

"We can exchange experiences
"how to reduce waste entering the sea, overcome overfishing, grow mangroves, Indonesia is currently making a lot of moves, one of which is building a seaweed research center," he said.

Closing his remarks, Coordinating Minister Luhut invited us to work together to turn things around. "Together, we can ensure healthy and sustainable oceans for all."//VOI

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut B. Pandjaitan, when giving his presentation at the G20 Bali Global Blended Finance Alliance (GBFA) in Bali on Thursday (04/07/24), (Photo : Kemenkomarves) - 

VOInews, Bali : The G20 Bali Global Blended Finance Alliance (GBFA) is an initiation from Indonesia in its chairmanship of the G20 in 2022. GBFA has been recognized in the G20 Bali Leaders' Declaration (para 43 and Way Forward para 3).

Following up on this, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries held a follow-up Hybrid Meeting on GBFA, Thursday (4-7-2024) in Bali.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut B. Pandjaitan, in his presentation said that GBFA is unique and superior as a form of Indonesia's contribution to fellow developing countries as a platform for South-South Cooperation, primarily helping to close the funding gap for climate action and achieving SDGs in developing countries.

“South South Cooperation through the formation of the South-South platform aims to build a mutually reinforcing mutual investment environment. GBFA facilitates the creation of country platforms for GBFA member developing countries and other developing countries as well as the preparation of Climate Change Action Policies." said Coordinating Minister Luhut.

Coordinating Minister Luhut added that GBFA will be a forum for capacity development, one of which is by facilitating the preparation of standards, guidelines, financial or project financing templates, and capacity development related to blended finance policies under South-South Cooperation as well as a forum for training and knowledge exchange.

GBFA is also a forum and partnership for collaboration across entities, funding and the private sector, including investment.

"Through the benefits of GBFA, it is necessary to immediately accelerate the preparation of the Articles of Agreement (AoA) and other stages to become an international organization, so that the GBFA negotiation team that has been formed can immediately carry out negotiations and finalize the AoA," stressed Coordinating Minister Luhut.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Thursday (04/07/24), the urgency for establishing GBFA includes the large financial gap to increase climate action and achieve the SDGs, in addition to the many systemic barriers such as the absence of a policy framework, limited human resource capacity, and the lack of a well-designed country platform in developing countries to encourage financing for a sustainable economic transition. to achieve SDGs targets.

GBFA is present as a strategy to overcome the financial gap for climate action. This was revealed by the Deputy for Environmental and Forestry Management Coordination, Nani Hendiarti.

GBFA was formed with the vision of a strong and dynamic global alliance dedicated to bridging the financing gap for the SDGs and climate transition in developing countries by mobilizing blended finance on a large scale.

Its mission is to enable developing countries to mobilize blended finance as a tool to bridge the financing gap in achieving the SDGs and achieving climate goals//VOI