VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Sudanese officials are discussing plans to normalize relations with Israel after Washington gave Khartoum an ultimatum to respond to it in return for economic aid and lighter sanctions, CNN reported Thursday.

Citing two senior Sudanese officials, CNN said that a meeting was taking place in Sudan after the US issued a 24-hour deadline to agree on a peace with Israel.

According to the report, Washington will reduce Sudan's international debt along with the potential to be removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Some $ 600 million in aid for food and medicine will be provided to Sudan under the agreement. In addition, the $ 3 billion debt owed by the US in the next fiscal year will be cut, as reported by Al Arabiya, Friday (16/10/2020).

Speaking to The New Arab, a source close to Sudan's transitional sovereign council denied reports published by the Israeli news site i24 News that Sudanese General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan intended to accept the offer. Burhan is the head of Sudan's transitional sovereign council.

The council will not discuss normalizing relations with Israel in a meeting scheduled to take place on Thursday, the source added. (RRI)

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati believes Indonesia still has access to the market in absorbing government securities (SBN) for financing COVID-19 even though there was panic by market players in April and June 2020.

"Even though in such a situation Indonesia has a good reputation, we still have access to the market," she said in a virtual CNBC Debate on Global Economy in Jakarta, Friday.

According to the Minister of Finance, despite entering the financial market during turbulence because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government SBN is still absorbed by investors because it offers attractive interest rates. The 10-year SBN yield is 6.9 percent as of October 1, 2020.

Minister of Finance continued that the government is also working with domestic financial market players and also Bank Indonesia (BI). The involvement of the central bank in buying government SBN on the primary market is because it requires enormous financing and is in an unprecedented or authentic situation.

"BI can also buy government SBN on the primary market without creating the impression that we will threaten BI's independence. This is authentic, we need a lot of communication, at the same time designing the right policies," she said.

Even so, the Minister of Finance ensured that the policy was carried out carefully and was not haphazard and transparent.

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis caused the government to widen the 2020 state budget fiscal deficit, which previously reached 1.7 percent, now to 6.34 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

For handling COVID-19 and national economic recovery, the government has allocated Rp.695.2 trillion, of which for health, social protection, MSME support, and business incentives.

"We are very careful about using choices and policies and instruments. This is very important when we have to stabilize the market when we have to have sustainable debt and also so we can save people and their livelihoods," she added. (Antaranews)

The government seeks to provide the COVID-19 vaccine to all residents through three channels, namely purchases from China and the UK, guaranteed vaccine supplies from international organizations, and domestic production of the Red and White Vaccine.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Health in Jakarta, Friday, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprise have been trying to get vaccine supplies from pharmaceutical manufacturers Sinovac and Sinopharm in China and AstraZeneca in the UK.

The government is also collaborating with international organizations such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) to get access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

In addition, domestic researchers developed the Red and White Vaccine using a new type of coronavirus strain that is contagious in Indonesia.

"While waiting for the Red and White vaccine, which is expected to be ready in early 2022, we will take advantage of cooperation with China and the UK. Because this vaccine requires two injections, we need to set priorities for vaccine administration, we prioritize the frontline health workers," said Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto.

The government is targeting vaccine supplies from China and the UK to meet the needs of at least 70 percent of the population, collaboration with CEPI and GAVI can guarantee the provision of vaccines for 20 percent of the population, and the Red and White vaccine can cover up unmet vaccines.

The government has stated that they interested in being able to access up to 100 million doses of the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca by 2021. (Antaranews)

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin hopes that state universities can produce researchers and publish academic research results with high commercial value so they can answer the needs of the growing community.

"I consider that one of the main tasks of higher education is to help produce researchers who are capable of conducting research that is useful and has high commercial value," said Ma'ruf Amin when delivering a scientific oration at the 63rd Anniversary of Diponegoro University online in Jakarta, Thursday.

Quality research affects innovation, said Ma'ruf. Research is a systematic effort to explore new knowledge by making better use of existing knowledge, he explained.

"Meanwhile, innovation is the result of various efforts we have made, including from research activities," he said.

The comparison of research budget allocation with the gross domestic product (GDP), continued Ma'ruf, is an indicator of the success of research in a country.

Compared with other countries in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is low in the allocation of research budgets.

"Although Indonesia itself has recorded an increase of over 150 percent from 2013, our research budget is still below 0.3 percent of GDP in 2019," he said.

Singapore and Malaysia have large research budget allocations, namely 2.6 percent and 1.3 percent, compared to their GDP.

Meanwhile, at the Asian level, South Korea and Japan were still higher, with the allocation of research and development funds amounting to 4.3 percent and 3.5 percent of GDP.

The government also continues to strive to increase the budget allocation for research and development in Indonesia, said Ma'ruf. However, the capacity to research human resources in Indonesia is still lower than in Vietnam.

"Just to provide a comparison between Indonesia and Vietnam, the two ASEAN countries which are the main destinations for foreign investment, the number of Indonesian research resources is only 89 people per 1,000,000 population, compared to Vietnam which reached 673 per 1,000,000 population," he explained.

Therefore, the Vice President hopes that all tertiary institutions, both public and private, can encourage their academics to improve the quality and quantity of research.

"Therefore, I hope that Diponegoro University can take on that role more effectively," he said. (Antaranews)