VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Taliban administration in Afghanistan has ordered beauty salons to close within a month, the morality ministry said, in the latest shrinking of access to public places for Afghan women.

"The deadline for the closing of beauty parlours for women is one month," Mohammad Sadiq Akif, a spokesperson for the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Propagation of Virtue, said on Tuesday, referring to a ministry notice.

Foreign governments and U.N. officials have condemned growing restrictions on women since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 after defeating a U.S.-backed government as foreign forces withdrew.

Last year, authorities closed most girls' high schools, barred women from university and stopped many female Afghan aid staff from working. Many public places including bathhouses, gyms and parks have been closed to women.

Beauty salons sprung up in Kabul and other Afghan cities in the months after the Taliban were driven from power in late 2001, weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

Many remained open after the Islamists returned to power two years ago but with their signs and windows covered up, providing some women with jobs and their customers with their services.

Western government and international organisations have signalled that restrictions on women are hampering any possible progress to international recognition for the Taliban administration.

The administration says it respects women's rights in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan customs. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) had increased the value of Indonesia's trade with Australia by up to 90 percent, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated.

The president made the statement during his meeting with the Leader of the Australian Opposition, Peter Dutton, at the Admiralty House, Sydney, Tuesday.

"Since the implementation of the Indonesia-Australia CEPA three years ago, the relations between the two countries are getting stronger. Trade has increased by 90 percent, investment has also increased by 50 percent, and followed by other developments as well," President Jokowi conveyed as quoted from a statement by the Presidential Secretariat Press Bureau received here, Tuesday.

During the meeting, the head of state stated that Australia is a friend and strategic partner for Indonesia and the ASEAN.

Hence, President Jokowi also hopes for support of the Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton to help the economy between both nations to become more substantive and strategic in the future, including cooperation in the development of the electric vehicle (EV) battery industry.

In addition, the president is expecting increased cooperation between Indonesia and Australia in the Pacific, including through trilateral cooperation.

Based on records of the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Economy Affairs, Australia has become Indonesia's strategic partner.

By 2022, Australian investment in Indonesia had contributed around US$524 million that played an important role in industry and job creation.

Moreover, the value of trade between Indonesia and Australia due to the IA-CEPA partnership grew 76.84 percent to US$12.6 billion as compared to US$7.15 billion in the previous year.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi; Minister of State Secretary Pratikno; and Indonesian Ambassador to Australia Siswo Pramono accompanied the president at the meeting. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Director General of International Trade Negotiations of Trade Ministry Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono witnessed the signing of three business-to-business (B2B) memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between four Indonesian companies and four Australian importers worth US$3.6 million.

The inking of the MoUs is part of a series of business luncheon agendas with the State Government of New South Wales (NSW) in Sydney, Australia, on Monday (July 3) local time.

"This time, three memoranda of understanding worth US$3.6 million will be signed. It is hoped that the signing will improve economic relations between Indonesia and Australia and contribute to non-oil and gas export performance," Witjaksono noted in a written statement in Jakarta on Tuesday.

According to Witjaksono, the signing of several MoUs is an important step in developing economic and trade cooperation that had yet to be worked out between the two countries.

Australia is considered to be a strategic partner of Indonesia and the ASEAN. The two countries are also geographically close. Nonetheless, there is still potential for cooperation between both nations that should be improved.

"It is hoped that these memoranda of understanding can be the starting point for the emergence of strong collaboration, to create business opportunities and improve welfare for the people of Indonesia and Australia," Witjaksono stated.

Furthermore, Indonesia and Australia share important economic relations. In 2022, the value of bilateral trade between the two countries had reached US$13.3 billion. The value is the highest in history.

Business actors and the public need to take full advantage of the existing trade agreements, such as the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA CEPA), the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

"Trade and investment between Indonesia and Australia will develop more if we can make the most of these agreements. For this reason, I encourage the Australian business community to collaborate with Indonesia," he remarked.

Meanwhile, Canberra Trade Attaché Agung Haris Setiawan stated that several MoUs that were signed were the initiation of the Canberra Trade Attaché and the Sydney Indonesian Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC).

This is also one of the concrete steps in the implementation of the IA-CEPA negotiations that have been in effect since July 5, 2020.

"We, the trade representatives, especially those in Australia, will always try to take steps that can encourage exports of Indonesian products. The signing of the memoranda of understanding today is a concrete form of effort to increase Indonesia-Australia trade relations," Setiawan remarked. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), on Tuesday, invited Australian investors to invest in several priority sectors of Indonesia at a meeting with CEOs of Australian companies as part of his visit to Australia.

"Indonesia has high potential as an investment destination with its natural resource wealth, demographic dividend, large market, and maintained economic and political stability," Jokowi said in a written statement received on Tuesday.

Industrial downstreaming is among Indonesia's priority sectors. Jokowi noted that Indonesia and Australia have vast potential to integrate with each other in developing the electric car battery industry.

"Indonesia has targeted to start producing EV (electric vehicle) batteries next year and to produce one million electric cars and 3.2 million electric motorcycles in 2035," he said.

The president also noted that Indonesia has extraordinary potential in the green energy sector, in which Indonesia has a potential of 434 gigawatts in the field of new and renewable energy from wind, water, geothermal, biofuels, and solar.

He further stated that a 30 thousand-hectare green industrial park is currently being developed.

On Indonesia's new capital city (IKN) Nusantara, with a forest- and nature-based smart city concept, Jokowi said its development had started to be carried out.

He stated that the opportunity to invest in several sectors in the IKN development is wide open for investors.

"The investment value is reaching US$25 billion, which is very open in the education, health, energy, and other sectors," he remarked.

He believed that investment potential in the education and health sectors is very high for investors.

"The number of university student admissions has risen by around 20 percent every year. Almost two million Indonesians still seek medical treatment abroad. A great opportunity for investment in these fields," he remarked.  (Antaranews)