VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo hopes that the development of the Masela Block can be accelerated. This was said by the President when receiving a number of delegations from the Japan Indonesia Association on Wednesday (11/20/2019) at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

The development of the Masela Block is still in the process of preparation, starting from the design, to the land acquisition. This project is scheduled to be implemented in 2022 until 2027.

After accompanying the President, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said that the President hoped that the work on the Masela Block could be accelerated.

In response to this, according to Airlangga, the Japan Indonesia Association delegation led by former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda promised that the work on the Masela Block project would be accelerated.

"Regarding the Masela project, it was conveyed that the design and the land acquisition, all local content is being prepared and this will also employ workers there. The project is planned from 2022-2027. Then related to the Masela development program, the president hopes that this can be accelerated. And Former Prime Minister Fukuoda said that he would be the witness that this was expected to be improved," said Airlangga.

Airlangga Hartarto further said that during the meeting between President Joko Widodo and the Japan Indonesia Association delegation, the President also mentioned the plan of the Indonesian government to initiate Ommibus Law. This is done to cut a number of regulations that are considered to slow the entry of foreign investment into the country. Moreover, according to him, the Indonesian government will also issue new policies related to the Negative Investment List. This is expected to further increase Japanese investment in Indonesia. (VOI / Ndy / AHM)

President Joko Widodo received the Speaker and Member of the Singapore Parliament, Wednesday (11/20/2019), at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. On the occasion President Joko Widodo said that the governments of Indonesia and Singapore were committed to strengthening cooperation in the fields of investment, infrastructure development, Human Resources development and the digital economy.

According to Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, the commitment was reached at the Retreat meeting between President Joko Widodo and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last October.

When receiving the delegation from the Singapore Parliament, according to Retno, President Joko Widodo conveyed the importance of the Singapore Parliament's support for the commitment of the two heads of state so that bilateral cooperation between the two can continue to be improved.

"And the president said that of course this is G to G cooperation, but we also need support at the parliamentary level because cooperation between the parliament also needs to be supported and also cooperation between youth also needs to be strengthened. Amidst a lot of world’s uncertain situations, the president said that it was more important for Indonesia and Singapore to strengthen cooperation including cooperation in the economic sector because ASEAN has good hopes," said Retno Marsudi.

President Joko Widodo welcomed Singapore Parliament Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin along with a number of Singapore Parliament members at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta Wednesday (20/11). There were 6 members of the Singapore Parliament accompanying the Speaker of the Parliament when he was received by President Jokowi. Besides that, the Singaporean Parliament delegation was also accompanied by the Ambassador and Deputy Ambassador of Singapore to Indonesia, Anil Kumar Nayar and Jonathan Han. During the meeting, President Joko Widodo was accompanied by Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung. (VOI/Ndy/AHM)

Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita has offered South Korea's conglomerate SK Group to invest in Indonesia’s petrochemical industry.

"We are optimistic that they would invest in the petrochemical industry, as Indonesia continues to have huge imports of petrochemical products," Kartasasmita stated in Seoul on Wednesday.

At a meeting with Kartasasmita in Seoul, SK Group, one of South Korea's top five chaebol (industrial conglomerates), remarked that it will consider investment in the industrial sector in Indonesia.

"They are keen to invest in the industrial sector and will send its team to decide on which industry they will invest in," the minister noted.

SK Group continues to seek domestic partners in Indonesia to develop the industry, he stated.

The industrial group comprises three business groups, specifically 45 percent in energy and chemical, 37 percent in information and communication technology and semiconductor, and 18 percent in logistics and services.

Some 60 percent of the petrochemical products for the downstream industry in Indonesia are still imported.

Of the total six million tons of demand of petrochemical raw materials in the country, only two million tons can be met by domestic supply.

The ministry has continued to attract investment in the petrochemical sector to substitute the import to meet domestic demand. (ANTARA)

Indonesian trio rock climbers namely  Aries Susanti Rahayu, Alfian M Fajri and Aspar Jaeololo are preparing to face the pre-qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which will be held in Toulouse France on November 25, 2019. Indonesian rock climbing national team manager  Pristiawan Buntoro hopes that Indonesia can achieve at least one ticket. But if it is failled, there still be another opportunity at pre-qualification event in Tokyo in May 2020.

“Our target is to win the qualification. If we lose in Toulouse, there still another opportunity in Japan in May 2020. But we believe we can get one of the two targets in Toulouse,” said Pristiawan Buntoro.

Moreover, Pristiawan explained that the combined numbers competed in the Tokyo Olympics are new numbers which are a combination of three classic numbers on rock climbing namely speed, lead and boulder// Rosihan /Trs:AF