VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said the use of digital technology for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can help these business actors receive assistance from the Government.

"I think the facilitation carried out for MSMEs in order to be able to take advantage of digital platforms for marketing can accelerate the various current government supports," said Ma'ruf Amin at the launch of the Halal Product Management and Marketing Digitalization Training Program for MSMEs virtually from Jakarta, Tuesday.

Using digital technology, especially in the marketing of MSME products, can bring great opportunities and encourage domestic industrial growth, including MSMEs, said Ma'ruf.

"The growth of digital technology also encourages the growth of the creative economy, tourism, and other services. These opportunities must be utilized properly," he said.

In addition, by utilizing technology in developing MSMEs, community groups at lower levels can be more productive and generate added value.

"Using digital technology to encourage the development of MSMEs needs to be done as part of economic transformation and strengthening the economy of the lowest community groups, to be more productive and produce high added value," he explained.

The Vice President also regretted that the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia is still very small in utilizing digital technology.

Referring to data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, Ma'ruf said that only 13 percent or 8.3 million of the 64.2 million SME players have used e-commerce platforms to market their products.

Therefore, Ma'ruf Amin encourages all UMKM players to improve their ability to access information and digital technology in terms of business development.

"This is very important because MSMEs have a large and crucial contribution, reaching 99 percent of the number of business units in Indonesia," he said. (Antaranews)

The government holds online training related to the digitalization of marketing and management of halal products for MSME players to increase their capacity and productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This program is open to the public and in the future it can be held massively," said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto at the launch of a virtualization program for marketing and management of halal products for MSMEs in Jakarta, Tuesday.

In the training, the government collaborated with four sharia-based digital partners, namely LinkAja Syariah, Tokopedia Salam, Blibli Hasanah, and Bukalapak, which was held from October to December 2020.

According to the Coordinating Minister Airlangga, after participating in the training program, participants who are deemed to have met the qualifications will get halal certification and will also be directed to access help services at integrated MSME business service centers in regions.

The first stage of training participants said the Coordinating Minister for Airlangga, prioritized groups of ministries/agencies and community organizations.

On the same occasion, the Minister of Cooperatives and UKM, Teten Masduki, said that the program would be followed by 1,000 MSME players.

Furthermore, the Coordinating Minister Airlangga said the COVID-19 pandemic had greatly pressured MSMEs which resulted in decreased sales, layoffs so that they had difficulty repaying loans.

On the other hand, he said, the pandemic has indirectly changed consumer behavior in shopping, who has now shifted to using online transactions using digital platforms.

Even so, he added, business transformation through the use of digital technology is not automatically optimal for MSME players.

"They are constrained by problems of product quality, production capacity, digital literacy that has not been mastered," said the Coordinating Minister for Airlangga. Meanwhile, he continued, the halal lifestyle has experienced rapid development in the last two decades.

Coordinating Minister Airlangga quoted the State of Global Islamic Economy data from 2019-2020, the consumption of Muslim lifestyle increased from $2.2 trillion in 2018, projected to reach $3.2 trillion in 2024.

"However, the increase is also influenced by Indonesia's high imports of halal products and this needs to be followed by domestic production capabilities so that MSME products can enter the global market," said Coordinating Minister Airlangga. (Antaranews)

President Joko Widodo asked related parties to check the readiness of the facilities for holding the U-20 World Cup, and the national team's readiness for the international event which will take place in May-June 2021.

"Today's limited meeting we will again discuss and see preparations for the 2021 U-20 World Cup, which God willing, will be held in May and June 2021," said President Jokowi at the Bogor Palace, Tuesday.

President Jokowi conveyed this in a limited meeting on the topic "Development of Preparations for the 2021 U-20 World Cup" which was carried out through a "video conference".

"For that, I ask for an updated report related to readiness, especially the readiness of the main stadiums and supporters in the 6 designated cities," said the President.

The U-20 World Cup is scheduled to be held on May 20 - June 12, 2021.

"At the last meeting we have selected 6 provinces to host the competition, namely DKI Jakarta, South Sumatra, West Java, Central Java, East Java, and Bali," the President added.

There are six stadiums that have been prepared as the venue, namely Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium (Palembang), Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (Jakarta), Si Jalak Harupat Stadium (Bandung), Manahan Stadium (Solo), Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium (Surabaya) and Captain I Wayan Dipta Stadium (Bali).

"I also want to get a report from PSSI regarding the readiness of the national team to compete in the U-20 World Cup," said the President.

According to the President, the most important thing is that the host can make sure it has implemented strict health protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"Finally, this is the most important thing we have to ensure that Indonesia has prepared strict health protocols so it is very safe to visit and host the U-21 World Cup in 2021," said the President.

President Jokowi has previously formed a national committee for the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup which is called the INAFOC National Committee (Indonesia FIFA U-2- World Cup Organizing Committee).

The formation of INAFOC was based on Presidential Decree No. 19 of 2020 concerning the National Committee for Organizing the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2021 and Indonesian Presidential Instruction No. 8 of 2020 concerning Support for the Implementation of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2021, both issued on September 15, 2020.

The chairman of the steering committee is the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy with the ministers of the Advanced Indonesia cabinet as members plus the Head of the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency, the Presidential Chief of Staff, and the Head of the Government Goods / Services Procurement Policy Institute.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the INAFOC executive committee is the Minister of Youth and Sports Zainuddin Amali, the Chairperson of the implementing committee in facilities and infrastructure is the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, Basuki Hadimuljono, while the Executive Chair for the achievements of the Indonesian National Football team is the General Chair of the Indonesian Football Association, Mochamad Iriawan. (Antaranews)

President Joko Widodo's name was immortalized as a street name in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates on Monday afternoon (19/10).

According to a written statement from the Indonesian Embassy in Abu Dhabi received in Jakarta on Tuesday, the inauguration of the street name "President Joko Widodo" was carried out by Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office.

The event took place at 4:45 p.m local time on the road that was inaugurated.

The event was attended by the Indonesian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Husin Bagis and the staff of the Indonesian Embassy in Abu Dhabi. Also attending several officials from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Abu Dhabi Municipality, who together witnessed the unveiling of the red curtain covering the name of the street.

The naming of President Joko Widodo's road reflects the close relationship between Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates and respect from the UAE Government to Indonesian President Joko Widodo in advancing relations between the two countries during his tenure as head of state.

President Joko Widodo Street is located on one of the main roads, which divides the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC) with an area that is home to a number of diplomatic representative offices.

The name of the street was previously Al Ma'arid Street, which in Indonesian means exhibition. The road connects the Rabdan road with the Tunb Al Kubra road.

Ambassador Husin Bagis expressed his hope that the naming of President Joko Widodo's road in Abu Dhabi will further strengthen and enhance the bilateral relations between Indonesia and the UAE, which have become increasingly close these days.

Street names in Abu Dhabi are generally geographic names that reflect the mainland history of the street on which they are located while preserving the Abu Dhabi culture and identity.

However, the Abu Dhabi Government in 2013 changed the names of several main streets in Abu Dhabi to the names of the great leaders of Abu Dhabi. This was done as a form of respect and to commemorate the vision, leadership, and contribution of leaders who built the UAE society.

The UAE Government had previously carried out a change in street names in Abu Dhabi with the names of leaders of friendly countries on 23 September 2019.

At that time, the UAE inaugurated the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud street on one of the roads in Abu Dhabi as a form of respect for King Salman's contribution to the Islamic world and to strengthen bilateral relations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia and the people of the two countries.

The naming of roads for President Joko Widodo in Abu Dhabi has added to the number of roads with names of Indonesian figures abroad, such as Jalan Sukarno in Rabat, Morocco; Jalan Muhammad Hatta in Harleem, Netherlands; Raden Adjeng Kartini Street in Amsterdam; and Jalan Munir in The Hague. (Antaranews)