VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that the government will reform its policy through the Omnibus Law to attract more investment to Indonesia.

"We are pushing for the ratification of the Omnibus Law and supporting businesses and communities affected by Covid-19," he said in a written statement in Jakarta, Friday.

Luhut conveyed this when he was the Speaker of the National Webinar on Investment in Islamic Countries in Indonesia in Jakarta, Thursday.

According to Luhut, the Covid-19 pandemic that has hit Indonesia since last March has not only caused death but also had a negative impact on the economic sector. Therefore, investment is one of the needed boosters for economic growth.

"The pandemic will cause people's purchasing power to decline, thus affecting consumption. Therefore, it needs a boost from government spending and additional investment," he said.

Apart from focusing on policy reforms to invite investment, another strategy of the government is to focus on developing the infrastructure sector.

The former Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security said that apart from China, as well as western countries, investment from Islamic countries from Arab and African countries in Indonesia is also quite significant.

Indonesia has even signed a memorandum of understanding of US $22.8 billion with the United Arab Emirates on January 12, 2020.

Details of the cooperation include sustainable energy development, sharing a vision of green growth to transform energy security into sustainable energy, and support value genuine Islam in encouraging tolerance.

"Foreign investment companies (PMA) from Islamic countries in 2019 were dominated by the United Arab Emirates at 69.7 percent," Luhut said.

Indonesia is also collaborating with the United Arab Emirates company, namely G42, to produce the COVID-19 vaccine.

"They UAE are committed to providing 10 million doses for Indonesia and undertaking broader cooperation for pharmaceutical products in the markets of the Middle East, Africa, and several other countries," added Luhut.

In the same webinar, the Indonesian Ambassador to Abu Dhabi Husin Bagis revealed the opportunities for Islamic countries to invest in Indonesia.

According to him, there are 57 countries that are predominantly Muslim but only a few rich Muslim countries. Husin also gave an example of Saudi Arabia which can produce 12 million barrels of oil, Abu Dhabi's 14 million barrels.

"A lot of energy reserves, but the population is small, the money is a lot. Where is the money going? Yes, investment," said Husin.

Husin said because they are rich, these countries only want to invest in countries with easy bureaucracy. Investments in Indonesia have become less attractive to them because of the complexity of the bureaucracy.

"Abu Dhabi's Sovereign Wealth Fund is huge, but what makes them less interested in investing in Indonesia is because we don't have any projects that can offer clean deals," he explained.

This, he added, caused the project to end up stalled due to being stuck in the administrative process. (Antaranews)

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi held a virtual meeting with the Palestinian Foreign Minister on Tuesday, including discussing the development of the country's situation, which became increasingly alarming after several Arab countries normalized relations with Israel.

"The future of Palestine is becoming increasingly difficult and full of challenges. Without solid international support, they fear that Palestinian political rights will be neglected," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in an online media briefing, on Wednesday.

Many consider the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain's decision to reopen diplomatic relations with Israel is to weaken the Palestinian struggle for independence.

Indonesia understands this move as the intention of the UAE and Bahrain to provide space for negotiations and change approaches to resolve the prolonged conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Indonesia consistently supported Palestinian independence based on a two-state solution and condemns all forms of occupation, human rights violations, and international law committed by Israel.

"I emphasize that Indonesia will continue to provide support for Palestinian cause," Retno emphasized.

Amid the worsening Palestinian situation, Foreign Minister Riad Maliki reported one positive thing, namely the unity between Hamas and Fatah, the two largest Palestinian factions with a history of civil war.

"The Palestinian Foreign Minister explained that the two factions are in talks that will lead to implementing the Palestinian elections,"  Retno said.

The two main Palestinian factions have agreed to hold their first elections in nearly 15 years. The vote will be scheduled for six months under an agreement agreed by Fatah, Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniya.

Saleh al-Arouri, a top Hamas official, said they reached the agreement during a meeting held in Turkey.

"This time we have reached a real consensus. The divisions have undermined our national goals and we are working to end them," he told the AFP news agency from Istanbul.

The last Palestinian parliamentary elections were held in 2006 when Hamas unexpectedly won. After the 2006 vote, Hamas and Fatah formed a unity government but soon collapsed and bloody clashes erupted in the Gaza Strip between the two factions the following year.

Hamas has since ruled Gaza, while Fatah runs the PA, which is based in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. Various reconciliation efforts, including a prisoner swap agreement in 2012 and a short-lived unity government two years later, have failed to close the rift between the two sides. (Antaranews)

Deputy South Korean Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Kim Gunn visited Indonesia on Monday to discuss several issues including COVID-19 and bilateral cooperation.

Amid travel restrictions in some or almost all countries, Indonesia and Korea have implemented travel corridor arrangements for important business visits and official visits since 17 August 2020.

"During this courtesy visit, South Korea expressed its appreciation for Indonesia's consistency in prioritizing multilateralism, including in terms of vaccine cooperation," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in an online media briefing, Wednesday.

Retno and Gunn also discussed the ongoing cooperation between the two countries, even amid a pandemic. In the health sector, for example, since the beginning, South Korea has been an important partner of Indonesia in providing medical supplies such as personal protective equipment (PPE), which is needed in handling COVID-19.

"Vaccine companies in Indonesia and South Korea are developing vaccine cooperation, namely between Genexine and Kalbe Farma," Retno said.

In the economic sector, Indonesia and South Korea successfully developed several new cooperation initiatives.

Recently, state-owned enterprises Minister Erick Thohir and Head of BKPM (Investment Coordinating Board) Bahlil Lahadalia visited Seoul and resulted in concrete cooperation, among others, investment in a glass factory from Korea, KC Glass, with a value of Rp 5.1 trillion which can employ 1,300 Indonesian workers.

Then, Sejin Fashion, which is engaged in the garment and footwear industry, has also declared an investment commitment with a value of Rp 1.2 trillion and can absorb over 4,000 local workers.

“LG Chem (from Korea) will develop the electric car battery industry. This is a very large investment and we are still calculating the amount,” Retno said.

During the meeting with Foreign Minister Retno, Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn also conveyed an invitation from Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-Wha to conduct a Joint Ministerial Commission in Seoul later this year, and participate in the UN Peacekeeping

Operations Ministerial Meeting in 2021, because Indonesia is considered having made a very significant contribution to peacekeeping. (Antaranews)

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met with ASEAN Foreign Ministers and the United Kingdom on Wednesday to discuss the cooperation between the two continents.

The UK donated £ 1 million (around Rp.19 billion) to the ASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund to help Southeast Asian countries fight the coronavirus pandemic.

"Indonesia welcomes Britain's contribution to the ASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund of 1 million pounds," Retno said in a press briefing in Jakarta, Wednesday.

Retno also emphasized the importance of vaccine cooperation at the meeting.

"Indonesia also hopes that the development of vaccine candidates in the UK, which is already at an advanced stage, is a step that brings us closer to getting an equivalent vaccine," Retno continued.

Retno said that ASEAN and the UK must continue to strengthen global health governance to expect the possibility of another pandemic. 

"It is important for ASEAN and the UK to continue to promote multilateral vaccines to ensure equal access to safe vaccines at affordable prices, through the Covax Facility Framework," she said.

Retno said if all countries committed to multilateralism, they will contribute to world peace, stability, and prosperity. 

"First, Indonesia hopes that Britain will continue to play a role as guardian of multilateralism," she said.

She said there are positive values in multilateralism ​​such as a sense of equality, certainty, a sense of belonging, and protection for all countries.