VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. Indonesia is seeking to order another 90 million to 100 million doses of Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine, in anticipation of an embargo in several vaccine-producing nations, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has said.

"We have taken an anticipatory step by increasing the quantity of the Sinovac vaccine (ordered). So far, the delivery of the Chinese-made vaccine has never missed the schedule," Sadikin explained during a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR) here on Thursday.

Indonesia originally planned to obtain 100 million vaccine doses in 2021 — 54 million doses from GAVI and 50 million doses from AstraZeneca. However, the delivery of the vaccines will miss the schedule due to the policy changes in several producing nations, he said.

"The schedule for the delivery of vaccines from Europe and India that we have discussed has been moved back for various political reasons in the countries," he informed.

According to the latest information, this year, AstraZeneca will only be able to send 20 million out of the 50 million vaccine doses it had originally pledged to Indonesia, he noted. The remaining 30 million doses will be delivered in 2022, he added.

"The 54 million doses of the vaccine from GAVI are free, but uncertainty about their delivery is very high. Meanwhile, the price of AstraZeneca vaccines has remained unchanged and only their delivery has been postponed," he informed.

He said the government is committed to accomplishing its national vaccination target in 2021.

“So, we will not ask for confirmation about the vaccine to be delivered in 2022," he added.

Indonesia has been expecting to receive vaccines through two mechanisms. It is pursing a multilateral mechanism with GAVI to obtain 54 million doses of free vaccines. It is also seeking to import 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through a bilateral mechanism between Bio Farma and AstraZeneca.

GAVI is an international vaccine alliance that offers free vaccines to eligible nations.

"The first problem concerns COVAC/GAVI owing to the embargo imposed by India, as the largest supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine is from that country. Hence, obstacles are being experienced," Sadikin informed.

GAVI-COVAX is a vaccine produced by the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI), in collaboration with alliance partners of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The minister noted that GAVI has reallocated the vaccines. Indonesia has received merely one million doses of the vaccine as opposed to the scheduled 11 million doses during the March-April period this year, while the rest have been postponed until May, 2021, he said.  (Antaranews)

Jakarta. The halal industry has been able to record a positive performance despite pressure on economies around the world owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

The halal industry recorded a growth of 3.2 percent, or higher than global economic growth, in 2019 before the pandemic, when it was pegged at 2.3 percent.

"Globally, spending on halal products in 2019 before COVID-19 occurred, especially on food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fashion, and travel products, had reached US$2.02 trillion," the minister informed here on Thursday on the sidelines of an online launch of a halal industry collaboration program.

Therefore, Indonesia, a member country of the G20 and the world's most populous Muslim majority nation, sees potential for developing its halal industry to meet domestic and global demand, she added.

The minister also lauded a cross-sector collaboration program to support the development of sharia economy and finance in Indonesia, which is targeting to become the world's sharia economy hub.

"This (Muslim Center of Excellence) is an initiative from a very positive industry in order to strengthen the ecosystem of the halal industry in Indonesia and strengthen the capabilities and capacities of the industry, including MSMEs, in producing goods meeting the preferences of Muslim groups," she said.

Hopefully, the collaboration between the National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS) and companies such as PT. Unilever Indonesia can spur the halal industry in the country, she added.

"A supply chain cooperation is a necessity at this time. It's a step forward in strengthening the ecosystem and creating a comprehensive supply chain cooperation," she said.

Meanwhile, executive director of KNEKS, Ventje Rahardjo, expressed the hope that the collaboration would help strengthen Indonesia's goal to serve as a center for halal producers.

The Muslim Center of Excellence aims to be a halal product innovation center, which will support research and innovation activities in halal products as well as the development and acceleration of empowerment programs for the Muslim community, he said.

"This program is expected to become one of the drivers for the progress of the national sharia economy and accelerate the development of other supporting businesses for the halal industry in Indonesia,” Rahardjo remarked. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto held a meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Suh Wook, in Seoul on Thursday during which both were on the same page to intensify bilateral military cooperation.

The minister undertook a visit to South Korea for a ceremony to roll out the first prototype of Korea's indigenous fighter jet.

According to a statement by Indonesia's Defense Ministry, the delegations held discussions on key issues in defense and security as well as exchanged views on regional security and bilateral cooperation.

Subianto noted that bilateral cooperation in the defense industry is envisioned to have a positive contribution not only for both nations but also for regional peace, security, and stability.

The minister believes huge opportunities exist in the area of defense cooperation to build mutual trust.

"On behalf of the (Indonesian) government, I laud the support and contribution of the government and people of South Korea in handling the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia," he stated.

On April 27, 2020, South Korea delivered 10 thousand PCR swab test kits as aid, through its defense industry institution, to bolster COVID-19 handling efforts in Indonesia.

According to Subianto, South Korea is among the countries to have successfully addressed the pandemic situation through the application of swift, accurate and efficient policies that had been supported by its people.

Indonesia has planned to acquire some South Korean military hardware, including the KT-1B Wong Bee turboprop basic training aircraft, supersonic advanced jet trainers, T-50 Golden Eagle light combat aircraft, and Changbo-Go class submarine.

Presence of the Changbo-Go class submarine, a variant of the type 212/214 developed by Germany, would enable Indonesia to become the only ASEAN country to develop a submarine.

Some South Korean military equipment granted to Indonesia comprised 10 assault amphibious vehicle LVT-7 that were earlier deployed by the South Korean Marine Corps.

Moreover, Indonesia and South Korea have agreed on a joint-development project for jet fighters, the Korean Fighter Xperiment/Indonesia Fighter Xperiment (KFX/IFX).

Under the agreement inked in 2016, Indonesia will bear 20 percent of the funding in the project worth US$7.8 billion, wherein 125 KFX will be built for South Korea and 51 IFX would be manufactured for Indonesia. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita believes 2021 Hannover Messe in Germany will open the global industry’s perspective toward Indonesia's enormous potential to encourage partnerships ahead of Industry 4.0 and offer opportunities for benchmarking the latest technology.

“The opportunity presented to Indonesia, as the official partner country at the 2021 Hannover Messe, must be optimally utilized to ink business agreements, forge industrial cooperation, draw investment, and drive the implementation of Industry 4.0 in Indonesia as a part of the national economic recovery,” Kartasasmita noted during an online pre-conference of the metal, machinery, transportation equipment, and electronics (ILMATE) industries at the 2021 Hannover Messe, a prominent international exhibition, here on Thursday.

The minister explained that the pre-conference was organized to offer opportunities to local industries in existing prioritized sectors that are currently transforming to Industry 4.0 to demonstrate their successful journey in implementing Industry 4.0.

Pre-conferences were conducted in two sessions on Thursday (April 8). The first session on Thursday morning on the topic “Technological Advances for Industrial Transformation 4.0” demonstrated digital transformation in the transportation equipment, health equipment, electronic, and metal industries.

“Some experiences and achievements in the path to Industry 4.0 are expected to trigger industrial players in Indonesia to also implement Industry 4.0,” Kartasasmita affirmed.

Meanwhile, the second session on the topic “Smart Industrial Park and EU Green Dealyang” highlighted the industrial area and the government’s policy pertaining to the green industry.

The Smart Industrial Park refers to the industrial area development concept through digital transformation that boosts the realization of the green industrial area. It can be achieved by utilizing digital technology and innovation in line with the sustainable development principle, including carbon emission reduction and the circular economy.

“In 2021, Indonesia has 128 industrial areas operating. Through this pre-conference, the industrial areas in Indonesia are expected to implement the Smart Industrial Park concept, so that an efficient, environment-friendly, and sustainable industry can be achieved,” he pointed out.

The world is recently facing the era of accelerated digitalization, Kartasasmita pointed out.

In keeping with the momentum, the 2021 Hannover Messe highlighted the topic of “Industrial Transformation” to demonstrate breakthroughs in advanced technology to address the challenges and to offer industry solutions.

Furthermore, by covering the topic of “Making Indonesia 4.0” at the 2021 Hannover Messe, Indonesia is keen to share with the world the roadmap of Industry 4.0 implementation along with its achievements.

Indonesia aspires to be one of the 10 countries with the biggest economy in the world by 2023 through seven prioritized sectors: food and beverage, automotive, electronics, chemical, textiles and clothing, pharmacy, and health equipment. (Reuters)