VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara, Researcher at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance-Indef, said that Chile has good trade potential for Indonesia because even though it is a small country, Chile is an entry point for Indonesia to other Latin American countries.  That was said by Bhima Yudhistira after the Diplomatic Forum talk show held by Voice of Indonesia, at Jusuf Ronodipuro Auditorium, RRI, Jakarta, Thursday (11/28).  According to him, Indonesia can improve trade relations with Chile by optimizing trade in various commodities such as food, beverages, automotive components, and others.

"So if we improve trade relations with Chile more optimally, for example, one, food and beverage, the second component is automotive, the third component is electricity, the fourth is related to commodities such as palm oil, chocolate, rubber, there is a lot of demand to Latin America," said Bhima. 

 Bhima Yudhistira further said that if Indonesia wants to seriously collaborate with Chile, the Indonesian government must reduce logistics costs by cooperating with logistics and cargo and providing incentives from the government.  This was done, Bhima continued,  because of the location of Chile which is very far from Indonesia, so it does not cost much for shipping goods to Chile.(VOI / AHM)

Indonesia's Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, in his address at the 31st Session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Assembly in London, extended support to the IMO for maritime safety maintenance. As the sole multilateral cooperation platform tasked with maintaining maritime safety and security in the world, the IMO had contributed myriad benefits to the international community for the protection of oceans, the minister stated while quoting the ministry's statement on Wednesday. He reaffirmed Indonesia's pledge to shipping safety and security as well as protecting the ocean environment from plastic waste, among others. "Shipping activities have enabled significant growth in global trade and economy, so several countries, including Indonesia, have managed to boost and improve their social and economic positions," he remarked while addressing delegates of 173 nations during the IMO session held from Nov 25 to Dec 4, 2019. As an IMO member country since 1961 and a dedicated board member since 1973, Indonesia has and will partake in a continual and active manner to propel the implementation of the IMO conventions, standard, and guidelines, Sumadi stated. In the course of the past two years, Indonesia, as an IMO Board member, had submitted proposals, among other things, a proposal on Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in Sunda and Lombok Straits adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee during its 101th meeting last July. The minister also informed the Assembly that Indonesia held a short course on Non-Convention Vessel Standard in early November 2019 in which the participants comprised representatives from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Fiji, Kenya, Maldives, and Timor Leste. He also echoed Indonesia's keenness to be re-elected as member of the IMO Council category C for the 2020-2021 period.   As a specialized agency of the United Nations, the IMO is the global standard-setting authority for safety, security, and environmental performance of international shipping. Its key role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted, and universally implemented. International shipping transports over 80 percent of the global trade to people and communities worldwide. Shipping is the most efficient and cost-effective method of international transportation for most goods. The world relies on a safe, secure, and efficient international shipping industry, and this is provided by the regulatory framework that the IMO has developed and maintained. IMO measures encompass all aspects of international shipping – including ship design, construction, equipment, manning, operation, and disposal – to ascertain that this vital sector remains safe, environmentally sound, energy-efficient, and secure.//antara.

Committee II of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, handling economic, financial, developmental, and environmental issues, has adopted 22 draft resolutions proposed by the Group of 77 (G-77) and Thiongkok. Indonesia played a vital role in the negotiation process at the Committee II by acting as facilitator for the resolution on financial inclusion and as a G-77 negotiator and coordinator for resolutions on science, technology, and innovation. G-77, currently led by Palestine, is a coalition of 135 developing nations. With the high level of struggle, the two resolutions were adopted by a consensus among all UN member states at a plenary session of the Committee II of UN General Assembly. "Indonesia's active role in Committee II reflects the Indonesian government's commitment not only to promoting its national interests but also struggling for developing countries' interests at the UN in the fields of economy, finance, and development," Vice Indonesian Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani noted in a written statement released on Wednesday. As a facilitator of the resolution on financial inclusion, Indonesia led and facilitated negotiations among all UN member states and negotiation groups in the UN, such as the G-77, European Union, and CANZ (Canada, Australia and New Zealand). The resolution encourages the increased development of public economy and digital innovations in the financial sector. Indonesia, along with Thailand, also played a role as the coordinator of G-77 for the resolution on science, technology, and innovation to fight for the interests of developing nations in the fields of science, technology, and innovation, especially to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The resolution on science, technology, and innovation contains various elements in accordance with the interests of developing nations, including international cooperation in capacity building, exchange of knowledge, and transfer of technology.//antara

The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs encouraged the ratification of the UN Convention against Torture in ASEAN countries and the Asia-Pacific region through the 2019 Regional Convention against Torture Initiative (CTI) Seminar. "Indonesia is one of the initiators of the Convention against Torture Initiative at the high level meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva in 2014," Director General of Multilateral Cooperation at Ministry of Foreign Affairs Febrian Ruddyard, while delivering a keynote address at the Regional Seminar of CTI 2019 in Bali, as conveyed through written statements, Wednesday. The three-day seminar inviting ASEAN countries and the Asia Pacific region was aimed at increasing the capacity of participating countries in ratifying and implementing the United Nations Convention against Torture. The seminar facilitated participating countries to share experiences, best practices, and challenges in developing and implementing the principles of the Convention against Torture into the statutory regulations and institutional system of national law enforcement. Indonesia has actively carried out various activities that can encourage the realization of the CTI vision. The activities included a capacity building workshop related to the Anti-Torture Convention organized by the ASEAN Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission and an inter-regional event at Fes in 2017 held with Morocco. Both these efforts encouraged an increase in the number of countries in the region willing to attend the Convention against Torture Initiative seminar. The initiative is looking at universal ratification by 2024. "Despite all its challenges, Indonesia is fully convinced that the world will witness the universal ratification of the Convention against Torture in 2024," Ruddyard said. The seminar was held in collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the CTI Secretariat, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swiss Embassy in Jakarta, and the Association for the Prevention of Torture.//antara.