VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

 Indonesia is currently offering an improved business climate to investors globally, including the Americas, as the country intensified efforts to boost domestic business, Director of America I at the Foreign Affairs Ministry Zelda Kartika stated.

"The government has made a quick adjustment to encourage domestic consumption as well as to ensure a favorable investment environment. Bureaucratic simplification as well as deregulation of hindering regulations have been conducted to ensure market competitiveness," Kartika noted during the Indonesia-Panama business forum webinar late on Thursday (Dec 10).

"The Indonesian government had also built 15 special economic zones. Each economic zone is specialized and built for specific industries [...] which offer more regulatory relaxation as well as attractive packages of investment incentives, such as tax holidays and tax allowance," she added.

Furthermore, the ministry encourages Indonesian firms to also pursue international engagements and expansion for their businesses, including to Panama, as vehicles apart from railway and tramway were listed for the top exported items to the American country.

Align with today's circumstances for recovery of the economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Kartika noted, adding that the government had recently enacted the Omnibus Law on Job Creation last month to promote economic development, trade, and investment. "It also significantly improves the ease of doing business and investment in Indonesia," he noted.

Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) recorded that based on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business (EODB) 2020, Indonesia’s ranking had improved, climbing from 120 -- out of the 190 economies in the world -- in 2014 to 72 in 2018 while slightly decreasing to 73 in both 2019 and 2020.

During the same webinar, Diono Nurjadin, head of the Americas at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, drew attention to some pros, such as the Indonesian demographic bonus and strong reform commitment, for the American, particularly Panamanian investors, to conduct their businesses in this country.

"Indonesia’s population is the fourth largest, and the most relevant part of the population is that 60 percent comprises those of the working age group. Hence, it represents the very sizeable 500-billion dollar market," Nurjadin remarked.

"I think the reform agenda is very crucial in improving the business climate, and the current administration has been very firm and committed to strong institutional, regulatory, as well as fiscal reforms," he added.

According to the official data of BKPM, Panama’s investment in Indonesia recorded a marked improvement in 2018 at US$100.71 million, from US$3.88 million a year before. (Antaranews)

People's Consultative Assembly Deputy Speaker Lestari Moerdijat appealed to the public to oversee the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill that is scheduled for deliberation in the parliament.

"We are now striving to gather support from parties for the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill. We hope to see the same support from the public," Moerdijat noted during an online seminar on the bill, cited from a statement received here, Friday.

Apart from support to legislators in the parliament, the people are also encouraged to back the bill outside the parliament by disseminating information and increasing public awareness of the content and benefits of the bill, especially those opposed to the sexual violence eradication bill.

The deputy speaker believed that public understanding of the bill was yet limited, thereby hindering the formulating process of the bill.

Moerdijat further noted that one of the key challenges in passing the bill was the ongoing misunderstanding of some of the clauses stipulated in it.

"The Sexual Violence Eradication bill is not only prioritizing the interests of women but it is also a legal tool to protect all Indonesian nationals," she reiterated.

Coordinator of Legal Reform from the Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Women's Association for Justice (LBH APIK), Dian Novita, stated that in the handling of sexual violence cases, difficulties were often encountered while entering the legal processes.

She cited the Foundation’s observation that out of 46 sexual violence cases against children, only seven made it to legal proceedings.

"Out of 103 cases of sexual violence cases against adults, only eight cases made it to the legal phase," she expounded.

A lack of legal basis had also posed a challenge in ensuring justice for the victims of sexual abuse cases without contact, including forced abortion and forced marriages, psychologist Gisella Tani Pratiwi stated, adding that it prevented the public from feeling safe and secure. (Antaranews)

Indonesia and Panama aim to improve bilateral relations in the business and investment sectors, although currently both - like other countries in the world - are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the ambassadors of the two countries.

"Even though we are still facing a difficult situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we must remain optimistic and creative to explore and enhance cooperation, especially in the economic sector," said the Indonesian Ambassador to Panama, Sukmo Harsono, in a webinar of the RI-Panama business forum, Thursday (10/12) evening WIB.

Indonesia, said Sukmo, is now offering the convenience of doing business and investing through the ratification of the Omnibus Law on Work Creation, by providing significant improvements to the business climate and bringing this country into international competition.

"This new law [...] will reduce weaknesses in doing business in Indonesia, namely by simplifying the land acquisition process, loosening restrictions on foreign investment, improving labor regulations, and providing more incentives for free trade zones," said Sukmo.

The Ambassador of Panama to Indonesia, Manuel Saturno, said that Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia which is vital to the Panamanian economy, as well as a multimodal logistics platform to generate profits for the country.

"On the other hand, we also want to increase Panama's presence in Indonesia, namely by bringing our affordable products, such as fruits, seafood, coffee, and others," said Saturno.

Panama itself offers its country as a "gateway into the American region for Indonesia [...] which can be used to gain profits for Indonesia by redistributing products to the region more quickly and efficiently."

The total value of trade between Indonesia and Panama has fluctuated, which tends to decrease. The figures for 2015 to 2019, respectively, in US dollars, were 161.86 million, 150.92 million, 129.95 million, 148.57 million, 112.85 million, based on official data from the Indonesian Government.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further reduced the value of trade between the two countries this year, with a record that from January to October 2020 amounting to 78.85 million US dollars, or decreased by 17.6 percent compared to the same period in 2019, which amounted to US $ 95.67 million, based on data compiled by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce. (Antaranews)

Morocco joins other Arab nations agreeing to normalize Israel ties

Israel and Morocco agreed on Thursday to normalize relations in a deal brokered with U.S. help, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months.

It joins the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan in beginning to forge deals with Israel, driven in part by U.S.-led efforts to present a united front against Iran and roll back Tehran’s regional influence.

In a departure from longstanding U.S. policy, President Donald Trump agreed as part of the deal to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara, a desert region where a decades-old territorial dispute has pitted Morocco against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state.

President-elect Joe Biden, due to succeed Trump on Jan. 20, will face a decision whether to accept the U.S. deal on the Western Sahara, which no other Western nation has done. A Biden spokesman declined to comment.

While Biden is expected to move U.S. foreign policy away from Trump’s “America First” posture, the Democrat has indicated he will continue the pursuit of what Trump calls “the Abraham Accords” between Israel and Arab and Muslim nations.

Trump sealed the Israel-Morocco accord in a phone call with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Thursday, the White House said.

“Another HISTORIC breakthrough today! Our two GREAT friends Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco have agreed to full diplomatic relations – a massive breakthrough for peace in the Middle East!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Mohammed told Trump that Morocco intends to facilitate direct flights for Israeli tourists to and from Morocco, according to a statement from Morocco’s royal court.

“This will be a very warm peace. Peace has never - the light of peace on this Hanukkah day has never - shone brighter than today in the Middle East,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to a Jewish eight-day holiday starting on Thursday night.

Palestinians have been critical of the normalization deals, saying Arab countries have set back the cause of peace by abandoning a longstanding demand that Israel give up land for a Palestinian state before it can receive recognition.

Egypt and UAE issued statements welcoming Morocco’s decision. Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979.

“This step, a sovereign move, contributes to strengthening our common quest for stability, prosperity, and just and lasting peace in the region,” Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, wrote on Twitter.

But Senator Jim Inhofe, the Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate’s Armed Services Committee, denounced Trump’s “shocking and deeply disappointing” decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara. Inhofe said people living in the area should vote in a referendum to decide their future.

“The president has been poorly advised by his team. He could have made this deal without trading the rights of a voiceless people,” Inhofe said in a statement.

A senior U.S. official said Trump knew about Inhofe’s opposition to recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara. But Inhofe’s argument lost ground with the president when the senator refused to hold up the annual defense spending bill when Trump demanded it be used to repeal a law granting liability protection to tech companies, the official said.

The Morocco deal could be among the last that Trump’s team, led by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and U.S. envoy Avi Berkowitz, will negotiate before giving way to Biden’s incoming administration.

Kushner told reporters on a conference call it was inevitable that Saudi Arabia would eventually strike a similar deal with Israel. A U.S. official said the Saudis were not likely to act until after Biden takes office, and even then there would be strong internal opposition that could block such a move in the near term. (Reuters)