VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 8th Plenary Meeting of the Indonesia-United Nations Consultative Forum (IUNCF) (31/10).

"Transparent and inclusive communication is needed so that UN agency programs are aligned with the priorities of the Indonesian Government," said Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi in a pre-recorded opening speech.

On the occasion, the Indonesian Foreign Minister also expressed her concern about the situation in Gaza and encouraged the UN Security Council to take immediate action.

The 8th IUNCF Plenary was chaired by the Director General for Multilateral Cooperation and the UN Resident Coordinator as Co-Chairs.

In his opening remarks, the Director General of Multilateral Cooperation appreciated Indonesia's achievement in meeting 63% of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target and encouraged cooperation between the Government of Indonesia and the UN to increase this figure.

The Plenary activity consists of two sessions, namely the Working Group I on Information Sharing and Cooperation Development (WG I) and Working Group II on Administration (WG II) report sessions, and Thematic Discussion sessions.

In 2023, two WG I meetings were held to discuss GoI-UN cooperation within the framework of Indonesia's ASEAN Chairmanship (February 9, 2023) and cooperation in the context of cultural protection (October 5, 2023).

Meanwhile, WG II meetings have discussed a number of administrative issues such as Host Country Agreement (HCA), consular facilities, taxation and customs, as well as technical aspects of diplomatic vehicles.

In the second session, the forum discussed the theme "Multilateralism in Achieving Blue Agenda's Commitment," which is relevant to be discussed after the 1st High Level Meeting of the AIS Forum in Bali on October 11, 2023.

UN RC stated that as the largest archipelago in the world, Indonesia has the potential to lead the Blue Agenda discussion at the global level.

The session also emphasized that multilateralism is a key approach in advancing this issue, which also requires close cooperation between Indonesia and the UN.

In the discussion session, the Plenary participants consisting of representatives of Ministries/Agencies and UN Agencies further agreed on the importance of intensifying routine coordination between the Indonesian Government and the UN, as well as strengthening UN cooperation with the ASEAN Secretariat.

This year marks a decade since IUNCF was first held in 2013.

In ten years, IUNCF has played an important role as a regular consultation forum that strengthens coordination between Indonesian Ministries/Agencies and UN Agencies. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

VOINews, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), Thursday, will participate in groundbreaking ceremonies to commence the development of a solar power plant and the Bank Indonesia (BI) office in the new capital city (IKN) Nusantara, East Kalimantan Province.

As cited from a statement received here on Thursday, the president began the third day of his working visit to East Kalimantan by visiting the development site of the Presidential Office building.

According to the statement, President Jokowi arrived at the site from the location where he spent the night at around 7:05 Central Indonesia Standard Time. He inspected the progress in development of the office thereafter.

Furthermore, he also conducted a review of the progress in the development of several projects in IKN from the top of the Presidential Office building.

After launching the development of BI's office and the power plant in IKN, the head of state is scheduled to attend the Kompas 100 CEO Forum event in the city.

Earlier, on Wednesday (November 1), President Jokowi joined groundbreaking activities of several projects in IKN, including a hospital and an airport.

Meanwhile, on September 23, the president had instructed parties to conduct groundbreaking events of various development projects in IKN on a monthly basis.

"I demand that a groundbreaking be held every month, and I will come here from month to month," he stated.

President Jokowi expressed hope that by holding groundbreaking events every month, the government and all related parties would expedite the development of IKN Nusantara.

Jokowi also spoke of having planned on routinely visiting the Nusantara development site on a monthly basis to inspect the progress in its development.

State Secretary Minister Pratikno, Ad Interim Maritime Affairs and Investment Coordinating Minister Erick Thohir, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono, Head of the Nusantara Capital Authority (OIKN) Bambang Susantono, and OIKN Deputy Head Dhony Rahajoe accompany the president during Thursday's agendas. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Bandung: The ASEAN vision as a single tourism destination encourages strong collaboration between ASEAN countries, says the Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno. The vision also emphasizes the importance of cultural exchange between each country in the Southeast Asia region.

VOINews, Jakarta - Pakistani authorities began rounding up undocumented foreigners, most of them Afghans, on Wednesday, ahead of a midnight deadline for them to leave or face expulsion.

The removal of people to temporary holding centres began a day earlier than previously announced. The interior ministry said 140,322 people had already voluntarily left after days in which trucks piled high with belongings and crammed with people have jammed major roads out of the country.

Pakistan set the Nov. 1 start date last month for the expulsion of all undocumented immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of Afghans. It cited security reasons, brushing off calls to reconsider from the United Nations, rights groups and Western embassies.

Some of those ordered to leave have spent decades in Pakistan.

"A process to arrest the foreigners... for deportation has started as of Nov.1," the interior ministry said in a statement, while adding that voluntary return would still be encouraged.

Within hours of the interior ministry statement, authorities had begun detaining and transferring what they said were undocumented foreigners to transit centres.

In the southern port city of Karachi, home to a large number of Afghan migrants and refugees, deputy commissioner Junaid Iqbal Khan said up to 74 people had so far been moved to one of the transit centres, up to 40 of them without any proper documents.

Reuters witnesses saw police bring some people in police vehicles. Inside the centre, authorities had set up tents to shelter those rounded up. Media were not allowed access inside.

Most of the Afghan nationals were brought to the centers in rickety busses, some of them handcuffed.

Some complained about mishandling by the authorities.

Jan Muhammad, 40, said his cousin was detained even though he had all the legal documents.

"I have shown up here with his original card," he told Reuters, saying the guards were now asking for another document. "We didn't bring that with us."

AFGHANS HEAD HOME

Of the voluntary returnees, around 104,000 Afghan nationals have left the country via the main Torkham border crossing in northwest Pakistan during the last two weeks.

"Some of them have been living in Pakistan for more than 30 years without any proof of registration," said Nasir Khan, the area deputy commissioner.

Another 35,000 Afghan nationals who didn't have legal documents to stay returned voluntarily by the Chaman border crossing in the southwestern province of Balochistan, provincial caretaker minister Jan Achakzai said. About 100 such Afghan nationals were arrested, he said.

Local media pictures showed long queues of busses heading to the Torkham crossing where thousands of people waited for clearance and would likely spend night in open as the crossing closes at 9pm.

Some of them said they had never been to Afghanistan, and wondered how would they start a new life there.

"We have never been to Afghanistan," Rizwan Khan, 25, told Reuters in Khyber tribal district before heading to the border. "We would be strangers to the people and they would be unknown to us. We do not have a house to live in in our native village," he said.

His grandfather had migrated from Afghanistan.

Of the more than 4 million Afghans living in Pakistan, the government estimates 1.7 million are undocumented.

Many fled Afghanistan during its decades of internal conflict since the late 1970s, while the Taliban takeover after the U.S. withdrawal in 2021 led to another exodus.

Pakistan has taken a hardline stance, saying Afghan nationals have been behind militant attacks, smuggling and other crimes in the South Asian nation.

Kabul has dismissed the accusations.

In the Afghan capital, the Taliban administration asked all countries hosting Afghan refugees to give them more time to prepare for repatriation.

"We call on them not to deport forcefully Afghans without preparation, rather give them enough time and countries should use tolerance," it said in a social media posting on Afghans in Pakistan and elsewhere.

It assured Afghans leaving over political concerns that they could return and live peacefully in Afghanistan. (Reuters)