VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo conveyed the spirit of independence for Palestine at the 75th General Assembly of the United Nations

He referred to the Dasa Sila Bandung, a mandate which was made by Soekarno during the Asian-African Conference in Bandung in 1955. Until now, the principles of the Dasa Sila Bandung are still considered very relevant, including the peaceful settlement of disputes, the promotion of cooperation, and respect for international law. 

"Palestine is the only country present at the Bandung Conference that has yet to enjoy its independence," said President Joko Widodo, on Wednesday.

President Jokowi revealed that since the Asia Africa conference, Palestine has remained a major concern for Indonesian diplomacy.

"Indonesia continues to consistently provide support for Palestine to obtain its rights," he concluded. (RRI)

In July 1943, after the Allied Forces successfully hit Italy and then occupied Sicily, King Vittorio Emanuele III, along with the Italian National Fascist Council resigned and captured Mussolini. After Mussolini was overthrown, King Emanuele III then discussed a ceasefire with the Allies. When the ceasefire was agreed by both sides, Nazi Germany quickly invaded northern Italy and freed Mussolini from prison and founded the Italian Social Republic (RSI). The RSI proclaimed independence on 23 September 1943 and claimed its territory was the entire old mainland of Italy. This state was supported by the Republican Fascism Party. By law, the capital of the Italian Social Republic is Rome, but the de facto, the central of the government was in Salò.

The Saudi Arabia government opened domestic pilgrims to perform Umrah pilgrimages starting on Oct. 4 and pilgrims from abroad starting Nov. 1, 2020, as quoted by Reuters, on Wednesday.

Initially, the country does not allow the small pilgrimage since March due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

The reopening of Umrah enables up to 6,000 citizens and residents in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah every day.

According to the SPA report, only 30 percent of the normal capacity of 20,000 pilgrims are allowed to perform the daily Umrah pilgrimage as a measure to prevent transmission of the virus.

The capacity of the new daily umrah will be increased to 75 percent after two weeks, on Oct. 18, 2020.

Meanwhile, for the opening in early November, Saudi Arabia will only allow Umrah pilgrims from countries that are considered safe, with a capacity of 100 percent until the end of the pandemic.

Apart from Umrah, Saudi government also restricted pilgrimage (Hajj), which normally can gather around three million people from around the world, to only a few thousand domestic worshipers.

Official data shows that the Hajj and Umrah services bring in revenue for Saudi Arabia of up to $12 billion or equivalent to Rp177 trillion per year.

Confirmed Covid-19 infections by Saudi Arabia until Sep. 22, 2020 was 330,798 cases, an increase of about 500 new cases from the previous day, and a total death of 4,542 cases. (RRI)

Over 20 Indonesian micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are interested in boosting exports of food and beverage products to South Korea during an online meeting with 10 South Korean importers.

The Indonesian Embassy in Seoul organized the meeting on Monday to connect MSMEs engaged in the production of food and beverages with potential importers.

“The most important thing is to provide a means of communication between exporters and importers so that trade relations can be established sustainably in the long term, not (for) just one transaction,” Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea, Umar Hadi, said in a press release received on Tuesday.

“We must be optimistic that the trade value between Indonesia and South Korea will continue to increase even amid a pandemic,” he added.

Based on data from the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, Indonesia and South Korea traded goods worth US$18.6 billion (around Rp274.7 trillion) in 2018, with Indonesia recording a surplus of US$443.6 million (around Rp.6.5 trillion).

Indonesia ranked 19th among countries exporting food and beverages to South Korea in 2019.

Meanwhile, in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Indonesia’s Trade Ministry has developed an INAExport application to link Indonesian exporters with buyers from abroad.

Chairman of the Indonesian Food and Beverage Entrepreneurs Association (GAPMMI), Adhi S. Lukman, who was also present at the virtual business meeting, said that Indonesia and South Korea have entered a new phase of trade cooperation following the signing of the Indonesia-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK-CEPA).

"Indonesia is ready to meet the standards set by South Korea and provide the best products," Lukman said.

Indonesian MSME products are in demand and ready to enter the South Korean market are sweets, snacks, ready-to-eat foods, egg nuts, biscuits, yogurt, cracker biscuits, and medicines, according to the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul. (Antaranews)