VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi delivered 3 main issues at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), Tuesday.

In a virtual media briefing, Tuesday (10/11), Retno conveyed, the first issue to be addressed was that Indonesia and ASEAN were ready to work together to strengthen partnerships with America in the future. He explained that the partnership must be based on several principles.

"The partnership is based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, and mutual benefit. Of course, the partnership we want is a partnership that upholds the principles and values ​​of multilateralism, respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity and international law," Retno said.

The Foreign Minister said that Indonesia also hopes that the US can become a positive force for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region, and become ASEAN's partner in implementing the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

The second thing that was conveyed was the hope that the South China Sea will continue to be a sea of ​​peace and stability.

According to him, a peaceful and stable sea will only happen if all countries respect international law including the 1982 UNCLOS.

The third issue that was conveyed was the importance of the principle of ASEAN centrality in Indonesia's partnership with ASEAN dialogue partners, especially in a very dynamic geopolitical situation in the region. (VOI)

Foreign Minister Addresses 3 Main Issues At Asean Meeting

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati assessed that the development of a COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer which was proven to be more than 90 percent effective had brought positive sentiment to economies around the world.

"The news about the Pfizer vaccine has sent positive sentiment around the world," she said during an online discussion in Jakarta, Tuesday.

Not only that, Sri Mulyani stated that the results of the US presidential election which was won by Joe Biden from the Democrat Party also provided positive sentiment.

Then, she said that in Indonesia alone, they had seen positive sentiment with the recovery in the third quarter, even though it was still in the negative zone, from 5.32 percent in the second quarter to 3.49 percent.

She explained that the recovery in the third quarter occurred from consumption, investment to exports and only imports were still in a quite depressed situation.

In addition, the majority of production sectors also showed recovery, namely, 12 out of 17 sectors and three sectors had positive growth, such as agriculture, information and communication, and financial services.

Meanwhile, the sectors affected by COVID-19 have started to show recovery even though they are still in the negative zone, such as the processing industry, trade, transportation, and accommodation.

"We hope that with the global economic recovery and optimism in vaccine discovery, this reversal will accelerate further," she said.

Therefore, he is optimistic that Indonesia's economy this year will grow according to projections, namely between minus 0.6 percent to minus 1.7 percent, while next year it will be 5 percent.

"Next year we hope that the recovery will run in the second and third quarters and will contribute to the economic growth of at least 5 percent," she said. (Antaranews)

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia was relatively better than various countries in Europe both in terms of the economy and the number of victims.

Sri Mulyani said countries in Europe were experiencing a second wave of COVID-19, which caused the number of cases to continue to increase and the economy would still be depressed.

"Indonesia and countries in Asia are relatively better off in terms of their impact on the economy and the number of victims compared to other countries in Europe whose economies have slumped and the number of victims has also increased," she said in an online discussion in Jakarta, Tuesday.

Sri Mulyani explained that the occurrence of a second wave pandemic in various parts of developed countries in Europe and the United States (US) would result in different handling compared to the first wave.

Therefore, she said the world economy would still experience contraction this year as developed countries were hit by the second wave of the pandemic even though in the third quarter they experienced a recovery.

"The economies of advanced and emerging market countries improved in the third quarter. We see that the global economic recession in 2020 will increase in the form of recovery in 2021, which is reflected in various projections of international institutions," she said.

She said the IMF predicts that next year the world economy will grow at the level of 5.2 percent, the OECD estimates that it will grow at 5 percent, and the World Bank projects to grow 4.2 percent.

According to her, the impact of a better pandemic in Indonesia provides its own optimism so that the government continues to seek recovery with the "Gas and Rem" policy in order to keep up with the pandemic's developments.

She ensured that so far the coordination of all authorities had been running well while maintaining and respecting the independence and function of each.

She said that good coordination steps were reflected in the economic recovery that began to appear in the third quarter, namely minus 3.49 percent from minus 5.32 percent in the second quarter.

She explained that the aggregate demand in the third quarter showed a recovery in terms of consumption, investment, and exports, and only imports were still in a quite depressed situation.

"This is what we will continue to maintain in managing the trust of the public for recovery and also from the market side," she said. (Antaranews)

President Joko Widodo said that the growth of innovation requires a conducive ecosystem to facilitate collaborator collaboration.

"Innovation doesn't just appear. Innovation requires a conducive ecosystem. This Expo is one example of such an ecosystem," said the President on the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel, in Jakarta, Tuesday.

President Jokowi conveyed this at the opening of the "Indonesia Innovation Expo 2020".

"We must continue to facilitate inter-stakeholder cooperation, strengthen multiple helix, strengthen collaboration between innovators and industry, government and society," said the President.

The President also welcomed and expressed his appreciation for holding the Indonesian Innovation Expo.

"Innovation is the key to transformation. Innovation is the energy to create change. Innovation solves solving problems. Innovation is the capital to win the competition," said the President.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the President, the importance of innovation was evident because all countries were competing to be the fastest, to be the best in various fields.

"In our country, we have witnessed many innovations in various regions in facing the pandemic. Innovations in the health sector, for example, will soon have our own vaccine, the Red and White Vaccine," said the President.

According to President Jokowi, innovators have also succeeded in finding works that are badly needed to accelerate the handling of COVID-19.

"One of them is GeNose which can detect the virus through a breath from the mouth that is easy and fast. Various research communities also continue to work to find effective drugs and therapies for the treatment of COVID-19," said the President.

All of these things, he said, prove that Indonesia has many. great talents who are ready to work for the independence and excellence of the nation.

"With collaboration, the innovators' works will not stop at just being a prototype, but can continue towards mass production and move towards commercial investment," said the President.

The benefits of innovation are clearly very large, not only solving problems in society but also adding value to the national economy, including creating new jobs.

Indonesian people, emphasized President Jokowi, to need more innovators in various sectors that are needed by society, such as food, energy, health, including innovation in business model management and digitalpreneurs.

Also read: Indonesia is holding a virtual exhibition at the Indonesia Innovation Expo (I2E) 2020

"Therefore I invite innovators to contribute to the progress of the nation and state, contribute to humanity and a better life," said the President. (Antaranews)