VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia was elected as president at the 48th session of the Industrial Development Board (IDB) at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) which took place by consensus in Vienna, Monday (23/11).

Ambassador / Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations in Vienna Dr. Darmansjah Djumala chaired the 48th IDB session which took place from 23 to 25 November 2020.

Ambassador Djumala will also chair various IDB meetings outside of the session from 26 November 2020 to July 2021.

Ambassador Djumala said Indonesia's diplomacy priority at UNIDO is to encourage technical cooperation in Industry 4.0, especially to increase the capacity of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia.

The Indonesian government has formulated Making Indonesia 4.0 as a road map to develop industry in the era of the fourth industrial revolution.

In this connection, cooperation with UNIDO is very relevant because the organization has the capacity in the field of Industry 4.0.

"We want to optimize Indonesia's membership in UNIDO to provide tangible benefits for the Indonesian people. This is what I call grounded diplomacy,” said Ambassador Djumala.

It is said that UNIDO has the capacity in Industry 4.0 which is in line with the Indonesian Government's program.

IDB is one of the three main organs under UNIDO which discusses the strategic aspects of the organization and is implemented annually. The other main organ is the General Conference which is held every two years and the Program and Budget Committee (PBC) takes place every year.

In recent years, Indonesia has been increasingly active in various UN agencies in Vienna. At UNIDO, Indonesia was selected as a member of the IDB for the 2019-2023 period and a member of the PBC for the 2019-2021 period.

At the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Indonesia has been Chairman of the Board of Governors for the 2017-2018 period and Deputy Chair of the 64th General Assembly in 2020. Indonesia was also re-elected as IAEA external auditor for the period 2020-2021.

The activeness of this international organization shows the increasingly recognition of the role and progress of Indonesia's leadership in the international world, said Ambassador Dr. Darmansjah Djumala. (Antaranews)

Indonesia is one of the four countries selected as the focus of discussion at the World Economic Forum (WEF), which will bring together the Indonesian government with global leaders, CEOs, and business players.

The WEF meeting entitled Country Strategic Dialogue on Indonesia will take place virtually on Wednesday (25/11) and will be attended by at least 43 leaders of global companies and the Indonesian government, represented by President Joko Widodo and several ministers.

"The choice of Indonesia as a country strategic dialogue by the WEF is considered as a country that has a major role in the economy, region and globally and is considered capable of carrying out policies to balance the handling of the pandemic and national economic recovery," Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar said in a briefing to the media, Monday.

Besides, said Mahendra, the choice of Indonesia by WEF partners shows the high level of trust, expectation, and curiosity of many parties, especially business actors and leaders about Indonesia's strategies and policies amid the current global conditions in the context of developments in overcoming pandemics and economic recovery, and sustainable development.

In this forum, Indonesia will specifically convey the progress of national economic recovery efforts related to the application of the Omnibus Law or the Job Creation Law.

"This is our commitment to continue the process of economic reform, especially for improving the investment climate and increasing competitiveness," said Mahendra.

A number of priority sectors that will be developed through a special WEF meeting in Indonesia include digital and information technology and telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, health services, infrastructure, mineral processing, and renewable energy.

Meanwhile, in the health context, the government will convey the development of the situation related to COVID-19 in Indonesia, which includes the percentage of national recovery reaching 84.1 percent or above the global average recovery according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which is in the range of 64.3 percent.

Then, the death rate due to COVID-19 in the country also dropped sharply from 8.6 percent to 3.2 percent.

"We convey that this good trend will continue to be implemented, as well as provide opportunities for us to increase steps for national economic recovery," said Mahendra.

"Of course by looking at the progress of vaccine development that is happening in the world in general and its relation to the access that has been and continues to be built by Indonesia, we hope that the economic recovery conditions will be more stable and strong in the years to come," said Mahendra, who has served as deputy finance minister of the Republic of Indonesia in 2011-2013.  (Antaranews)

Indonesia and Sweden on Monday asserted their commitment to manage public and business cooperation to help realize a greener and more sustainable economy.

In her opening remarks at the start of the Sweden-Indonesia Sustainability Partnership (SISP) Week, which is being held online this year, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said that Sweden is an important European partner for the archipelagic nation, adding it is important for both countries to "recover together and stronger" from the COVID-19 crisis.

"I am confident our partnership can bring added value to our respective economic recovery; one such area is building a greener and more sustainable economy," Marsudi noted.

The foreign affairs minister also highlighted President Joko Widodo's message to leaders of the Group of 20 economies (G20) on Sunday night (November 22, 2020) to use the pandemic as a reason for pushing forward green economy goals.

"We have much to learn from Sweden in this regard. Sweden has shown that it is possible to combine economic growth with environmental protections. Sweden is also widely recognized as one of the leaders of environmental innovations and technologies," Marsudi observed.

At the same event, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven also delivered a message on the economic recovery of Sweden and Indonesia, which have been impacted by the unprecedented outbreak, through a bilateral cooperation framework, as this year marks the 70th anniversary of bilateral relations between the two countries.

"The crisis reminds us of the importance of working together, in international solidarity across borders, to find ways to jointly address our most pressing global challenges: the pandemic, the climate crisis, economic recovery, and widening inequalities," Lofven stated.

He also reiterated that "coming back from the crisis, we must, and we will build back stronger, greener and more inclusive societies; we must deliver on the 2030 agenda and the principle of leaving no one behind”.

The diplomatic ties between Indonesia and Sweden date back to 1950. Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia's official visit to Jakarta in 2017 at President Widodo's invitation also resulted in several collaborations.

"This week presents us with an excellent opportunity to build on that momentum and form new partnerships for the future," Prime Minister Lofven noted. (Antaranews)

The Government of Indonesia is upbeat about Italy securing a deal on international taxation during the upcoming Group of 20 Economies (G20) presidency in 2021, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated.

"G20 finance ministers and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) formulated international taxation principles related to digital taxation and the efforts to remove base erosion and profit shifting," Indrawati remarked during a virtual press conference on late Sunday (Nov. 22).

"However, neither an agreement nor a deal was struck at today's (G20 leaders) meeting. We are hoping that the deal would be secured under Italy’s presidency next year," she noted.

With Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud closing the G20 Riyadh Summit last night, Italy assumed the forum’s annual rotating presidency from Saudi Arabia during a ceremonial handover to Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

Moreover, Indrawati highlighted the G20 Finance Track discussion on infrastructure sector investment that is viewed as an imperative issue for Indonesia since it is in accordance with the country’s 2021 priority to increase funding for infrastructure.

"However, for the funding, it is very crucial to also involve the private sector as well as focus on optimizing innovation and technology," Indrawati emphasized.

"The G20 would provide support for optimizing technology and development of financial digitalization since this is the direction that we could not refuse but must be prepared, especially in connection with the data protection issue," the minister stated. (Antaranews)