VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews,Jakarta: Swedish Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor Leste and ASEAN, Daniel Blockert pointed out that Indonesia has become an attractive market for Swedish investors. On the sidelines of the launch of the 2024 Health Services Platform which is part of the Sweden-Indonesia Sustainable Partnership (SISP) in Jakarta on Friday (26/4), he also explained that currently, there are Swedish companies producing in Indonesia and investing in various fields.

According to  Ambassador Daniel, Swedish investors have high optimism because Indonesia has carried out a number of reforms that support the investment climate in the country. With many facilities offered by Indonesia, Ambassador Daniel Blockert admitted that he would be very surprised if foreign investment from Sweden in Indonesia does not increase.

“Indonesia is an interesting market for Swedish companies. We have Swedish companies who are already producing in Indonesia. We have companies who are investing in other areas here as well. And I hear that there are many Swedish companies who are interested in getting into this market more. I don't think that I will insult anyone if I'm saying that the Indonesian health sector has not always been easy to navigate but I think that what I'm hearing when I talked to the Swedish companies is that there is a lot of optimism because reforms have been made and reforms are also on the way and I think that the general sense from the business communities that these are big steps in the right direction. And with this market, with these possibilities that you have here with the large number of universities, I would be very surprised if Swedish investments in the health sector are not going to increase in Indonesia for the coming years. It is safe to say that there are a lot of interests,” he pointed out.

Furthermore, since 2020, Indonesia and Sweden have increased bilateral cooperation of both countries through the Sweden-Indonesia Sustainable Partnership (SISP) scheme which aims to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Targets (SDGs) set by the UN.

Previously, Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that the Indonesian government encourages to increase relations between Indonesian and Swedish business actors to improve the quality of health services in Indonesia. He believes that the business community has an important role in making this effort a success, facilitated by the government. (Ndy/ Mar/AF/Rahmana)

VOInews,Jakarta: The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 2023 Hassan Wirajuda Protection of Indonesian Citizen Award (HWPA) at Graha Bhakti Budaya Taman Ismail Marzuki in Jakarta on Friday evening (26/4). The award appreciated 23 figures and entities from Indonesia and foreign countries, who have contributed to protecting Indonesian citizens (WNI) abroad.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi in her speech mentioned three reflections regarding the protection of Indonesian citizens during her time in office. One of them is increasingly complex challenges in which Indonesian citizens abroad face problems, such as disasters, conflicts, and even online fraud.

“From time to time, the number of cases of Indonesian citizens abroad is increasing. In 2022, the  cases  reached 35,149. This number also increased by more than 50 percent to 53,598 cases in 2023. Apart from the number of cases, world conditions are increasingly characterized by various dynamics ranging  from natural disasters, armed conflicts, to the development of increasingly sophisticated transnational crime modes,” she noted.

Furthermore, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that more than 1,100 Indonesian citizens have been repatriated since 2023 due to conflicts in a number of regions. However, since 2021, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recorded more than 3,400 cases of Indonesian citizens caught in online fraud; 40% of which were related to human trafficking. 

Besides the complexity of the challenges, Minister Retno also conveyed  the importance of strengthening collaboration among all parties and taking  experience as the best teacher. Therefore, at this event, she launched a book entitled "Presenting the Country to the End of the World", containing reflections on the HWPA awards over the last eight years. (VOI/Rama-Mar/AF/Rahmana)

Jakarta, VOI News :  Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Hadi Tjahjanto, has asked the chief of Air Force Staff (KSAU), Marshal Mohamad Tonny Harjono, to prepare the necessary defense equipment for carrying out weather modification.

"The Java and East Nusa Tenggara Islands will continue to experience the dry season followed by La Nina until September. La Nina is not finished yet, so the Air Force needs to immediately prepare the defense equipment for weather modification," the minister said at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base on Friday.

He explained that the defense equipment that would need to be deployed are airplanes belonging to the Air Force that have been modified with a weather control device.

Weather modification will be carried out to prevent extreme drought that could potentially trigger forest fires in some areas, the minister said.

He added that it could also reduce excessively heavy rainfall.

However, he did not provide further details on the tools and the number of aircraft that would be deployed to modify the weather.

He expressed the hope that the effort would directly minimize natural disaster impacts due to weather dynamics.

Weather modification involves spreading salt in large quantities in the air.

The Indonesian Air Force also applied this technology in early 2023. At the time, it used the CN-295 aircraft from the Weather Modification Technology Post at Adisoemarmo Air Force Base, Solo, Central Java, to spread 13,530 kilograms of salt.

On a separate occasion, chairperson of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Bambang Soesatyo, asked the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to be ready to provide assistance to East Nusa Tenggara province.

The region has a high potential to experience five-meter high waves until April 8, 2024, as forecast by the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). (ANTARA)

Jakarta, VOI News : Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta,  Indonesia represented by Religious Attaché,  Syaikh Ahmad Isya Al Hazimi  visited the head office of RRI on Friday (5/4)  to attend the prize giving ceremony Umrah for the winners of the 54th RRI Quran Tilawatil Week  2024 of  the disability category.

In his speech, Shaykh Ahmad Isya Al Hazimi felt honored to be able to contribute to the 54th RRI Quran Tilawatil Week  activities by providing Umrah package prizes for 4 winners from the male and female categories. The Umrah trip prize is sponsored by two philanthropic foundations in Saudi Arabia, namely the Hambali Social Foundation and the Masith Aris Foundation.

“The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Religion, represented by  the Religious Attaché of the Saudi Arabian Embassy, is pleased with the opportunity given  to contribute to this extraordinary musabaqah event  in which  the participants are people we really care about, namely those who are blind. The event is  supported by 2 social foundations in Saudi Arabia,  namely the Hambali Foundation and the Masith Aris Foundation that  provided donations for Umrah departures for 4 winners  through the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Religion in Riyadh which is  represented by the Religious Attaché Embassy,” Syaikh Ahmad Isya conveyed.

Moreover, four participants at the the 54th RRI Quran Tilawatil Week  2024 for  the disability category who received Umrah prizes from the Saudi Arabian Embassy are 1st and 2nd place in the men's category,  Ahmad Yasir from Denpasar Bali and Gusnanda from Pekanbaru Riau Province. The 1st and 2nd place in the women's category are Andini Putri Melati from Palembang South Sumatra and Shinta Wulan from Medan North Sumatra. (Daniel/nrl/AF/Rahmana)