VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia has officially become the 40th permanent member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) announced on Monday.

"I would like to convey good news as a result of the negotiations in Paris last October. Thank God, Indonesia was accepted by acclamation as the 40th permanent member of FATF," he stated at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta.

FATF is an international organization focused on global efforts to eradicate criminal acts of money laundering, terrorism financing, and funding the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The president noted that Indonesia's FATF membership is important to increase positive perceptions of the Indonesian financial system.

Increasing positive perceptions of Indonesia's financial system will encourage confidence and trust in the business and investment climate in the country, he remarked.

"It is very important to increase positive perceptions towards the Indonesian financial system. It will help to boost confidence and trust in our business and investment climate, Jokowi remarked.

The head of state also lauded the National Coordinating Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Money Laundering and other stakeholders for their hard work and commitment to realize Indonesia's goal of becoming an FATF official member.

"We hope that this will be the first step towards better governance of Indonesia's anti-money laundering regime and prevention of terrorist financing," the president stated.

According to the official website of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), by joining as a permanent member of the FATF, Indonesia will be able to make a broad contribution to determine global strategic policies related to Anti-Money Laundering and Prevention of the Financing of Terrorism (APUPPT) that can further emphasize Indonesia's position as a country with integrity and capable of actively contributing to the international arena. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Indonesian Economic Affairs Coordinating Ministry conducted a working visit to Berlin in late October to seek the German Government's support for Indonesia's accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

According to a statement received here on Sunday (November 5), the ministry's Deputy for International Economic Cooperation Coordination, Edi Prambudi, had the opportunity to meet with several German high-ranking officials, including Director General of Trade at the Economic Affairs and Climate Action Ministry, Dominik Schnichles.

Prambudi sought support of the German Government for Indonesia's bid to become a full member of the OECD while extending appreciation to the well-fostered economic cooperation between Indonesia and Germany.

"We know that Germany is the largest economy in the European Union, the most significant trade partner of Indonesia among the European Union members, and one of the founding members of the OECD," Prambudi noted.

He also lauded Germany for its support for Indonesia's resolve to become a full member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

President of FATF, T. Raja Kumar, announced the intergovernmental organization's decision to accept Indonesia as its 40th full member during a plenary meeting that took place in Paris, France, on October 27, 2023.

"We also discussed the follow-ups to the Joint Declaration of Intent of the Indonesia-Germany Joint Economic and Investment Committee signed by the Indonesian Economic Affairs Minister and German Economic Affairs and Climate Action Minister in April 2023," he noted.

Delegations of both countries also explored possible bilateral cooperation in investment in special economic zones in Indonesia, especially in the manufacturing sector and industrial areas.

In addition, Prambudi made the most of the visit to Germany to hold a meeting with the Head of Germany's G7/G20 Sherpa Office, Lucinda Trigo Gamara.

During the meeting, Germany lauded Indonesia for its role in the presidency of G20 last year and as a member of the Troika of the Indian G20 Presidency this year

"In the meeting, we also discussed the results of the G20 Summit held in New Delhi on September 9-10 of 2023 as well as the priorities of the G20 under the presidency of Brazil next year," Prambudi concluded. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The National Police (Polri) sent nine personnel to assist the delivery of 26.5 tons of the 51.5 tons of Indonesia's humanitarian aid for the people of Palestine in the besieged Gaza Strip.

"They had departed for Egypt's El Arish International Airport on Sunday evening," Head of the National Police's International Relations Division, Inspector General Krishna Murti, stated here Monday.

"The police officers left for Egypt on board an Airbus A330 from the Soekarno Hatta International Airport along with their counterparts from the Foreign Ministry and several journalists," he remarked.

Shortly after arriving in Egypt, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's officials would coordinate the delivery of the humanitarian aid to the Egyptian authorities before being transported to Gaza, Murti stated.

He appealed to all Indonesians to continue to pray for the success of this humanitarian mission for Palestinians, who have been acutely suffering from the Israeli bombardment since the start of the war on October 7.

"May our humanitarian packages arrive on schedule and reach those in need," he noted, adding that the packages comprise health equipment, food, tents, and blankets.

"Polri donates 100 tents that can accommodate five thousand people as well as one thousand winter blankets and jackets, he stated.

On Saturday morning (Nov 4), President Joko Widodo had sent off humanitarian assistance, weighing 51.5 tons, from the Indonesian government and people for Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Speaking at the sending off ceremony of the aid at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta, President Jokowi said this first batch of aid would be followed by another batch of aid.

This first batch of the aid was transported by three aircraft comprising two C-130 Hercules planes, with registration numbers A-1327 and A-1328, of the Indonesian Air Force as well as a Garuda Indonesia's Boeing 737.

Jokowi, as the president is known, highlighted that aid was obtained not only from the government but also from the people that submitted their donation through humanitarian agencies, including the National Alms Agency (Baznas) and Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), and a fundraising platform kitabisa.com.

"This is a manifestation of Indonesian solidarity, the nation's care about humanity because the humanitarian tragedy happening in Gaza is unacceptable and must be ended immediately," he stated.

New armed conflict between Palestine and Israel erupted again following a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel early in the morning of October 7.

Prior to the assaults by Palestinian liberation fighters, Israel had continued its closure of Gaza crossings.

Palestine's news agency WAFA reported on September 25 that the Israeli closure of Gaza crossings had worsened the living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza.

According to WAFA, the Palestinians had already suffered from the severe impacts of "more than 17 years of tight Israeli land, sea, and air blockades."

Al Jazeera quoted Hamas, which governs Gaza, as stating that its assault on Israel was "a response to the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence."

In response to the unprecedented surprise attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on Hamas and, according to Al Jazeera, pledged that the Israeli forces would "turn all Hamas hideouts into rubble."

The ongoing Israeli genocidal campaign in the besieged Gaza Strip, which is home to more than two million people, has resulted in the deaths of several thousand Palestinian civilians and led to a humanitarian crisis. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Lestari Moerdijat underscored that the potential extreme weather in the seasonal transition must be anticipated by promoting disaster mitigation in the community.

"Promoting disaster mitigation in a country surrounded by volcanoes and with the potential for extreme weather is a very important effort," she said in a statement received in Jakarta on Sunday.

According to her, the impact of changes in weather, which can potentially cause disasters, must be anticipated as well as possible. The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has predicted that the moderate El Nino phenomenon will end in February 2024.

Furthermore, she continued that with Indonesia's condition as a country that is prone to disasters, all citizens must be given adequate understanding and knowledge to mitigate various disasters.

Moerdijat stated that efforts to increase the understanding of disaster mitigation can be carried out through learning processes at various levels of education.

She noted that the dissemination of information on disaster mitigation must also be given to community groups to improve their knowledge and understanding.

She added that the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) had made efforts to realize the resilience of the community in responding to disasters, among others, by developing the Disaster Resilient Village (Destana) program, which was first initiated in 2012.

The MPR deputy speaker assessed that the more people at all levels understand disaster mitigation, the better disaster management efforts in the country will be.

She added that efforts to overcome natural disasters actually require the involvement of policymakers and all elements of society to ensure the protection and safety of everyone in the country. (Antaranews)