Minister of Research and Higher Education Mohamad Nasir has urged all higher education institutions, particularly state universities, to produce competent undergraduates and diploma graduates in line with the industry demands.

"This is an effort to improve the quality of human resources. Hence, universities can no longer afford to produce graduates that are unable to meet the requirements of the industry," he remarked after attending the Plenary Meeting of the Indonesian Economic Scholars Association (ISEI) at Stikubank University, Semarang, on Monday.

Minister Nasir affirmed that massive endeavors will be made to boost the quality of college graduates to obtain optimal results in terms of the human resources.

The minister highlighted the need for students to secure competency certification to respond to challenges arising from digital transformation that have changed the structure of the labor market.

Furthermore, the policy of necessitating undergraduates and diploma graduates to obtain a competency certificate aims to ensure that those from universities are employable.

"Hence, scholars and diploma holders must obtain competency certificates, and we will implement this on a massive scale," he stated.

The minister confirmed that his party will revitalize higher education through vocational education, so that after graduation, the students have not only obtained a diploma but also a certificate of competence in their respective fields, especially in the areas of science and technology.

"In addition, college graduates must be able to compete and boost economic growth of the surrounding community," he stated. (ANTARA)

The government has prepared a national action plan spread over the next few years to reclaim regions exposed to the toxic elements of mercury (Hg), the Environment and Forestry Ministry said. "It has become a national priority and we have the national action plan," the Director General of Waste and Toxic Waste Management of the ministry, Rosa Vivien Ratnawati said in Jakarta Monday.

It would not be an easy task to reclaim ex-mining sites that have been contaminated with mercury but it is necessary to prevent the negative impact on the society, she admitted.

Illegal public mines must be closed based on the law No. 32/2009 on the protection and management of the environment, she said.

In the near future, the government will restore the condition of Mount Botak in Buru Island, Maluku Province that had been damaged by illegal gold mines.

"Usually it will take one to two years for the recovery," she said and added that the ministry has conducted an evaluation on the levels of contamination and methods that could be used to reclaim the area.

Sumatra, Kalimantan and West Nusa Tenggara are among regions in the country that were heavily contaminated by mercury and need recovery action.

Two districts in West Nusa Tenggara are so badly contaminated with mercury that it has forced the authority to ban people from consuming meat produced by these two regions.

Regions with public small-scale mines that did not use mercury will get gold processing facilities between Rp1.2 billion and Rp1.5 billion, Ratnawati said. (ANTARA)

Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Wiranto and Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste Xanana Gusmao signed an agreement on unresolved segments of land boundaries.

In a meeting that lasted nearly 30 minutes in Jakarta on Monday, Xanana also acted as chairman of the negotiations on the land boundaries between Indonesia and Timor Leste. The Indonesian Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi witnessed the signing of the agreement. "I say that all land boundary negotiations are in principle complete. Next, we will continue the maritime boundary negotiations," Wiranto explained.

With the completion of the agreement, a senior officer consultation (SOC) would be followed up in the second addendum, the 2005 border agreement between Indonesia and Timor Leste, Wiranto stated.

Meanwhile, on behalf of East Timor, Xanana Gusmao expressed his gratitude to Wiranto and Marsudi.

"In principle, we already have an agreement on the land boundaries. Brotherhood between two countries tomorrow will be better," Xanana said.

The two borders between Indonesia and Timor Leste are Noel Besi-Citrana and Bidjael Sunan-Oben.

The border of Noel Besi-Citrana is an area in Kupang Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, which is directly adjacent to Oecusse-Ambeno, a part of the territory of Timor Leste, while Bidjael Sunan-Oben is an area located in Manusasi, Timor Tengah Utara District (TTU). (ANTARA)

Indonesia has made a great effort to eradicate illegal fishing, indicated by the success of its lobbying to increase global awareness about illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. "Indonesia is very advanced (related to eradicating illegal fishing)," Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister, Susi Pudjiastuti, said in Jakarta on Monday.

Pudjiastuti opined that Indonesia had managed to encourage the G20 Summit Forum to recognize IUU Fishing as a crime that must be taken seriously.

The Indonesian Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries also emphasized the importance of a commitment from various parties.

Susi revealed that one way to achieve this commitment was by inviting other countries to share their Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data.

Previously, the Indonesian Marine Scholarship Association (Iskindo) appreciated the agreement during the G20 Forum regarding Indonesia's initiative and leadership in eradicating the practice of IUU fishing or illegal fishing.

"This agreement will be of concern to the G20 countries in providing support for efforts to reduce the practice of IUU around the world, although the agreement is not binding," Iskindo's chairman, Moh Abdi Suhufan, said.

In the G20 forum, which took place in Osaka, Japan, on June 28 and 29, 2019, leaders of the G20 countries committed to tackling IUU fishing activities globally.

Through this success, the Iskindo gave a token of appreciation to the Indonesian delegation at the meeting.

With such an agreement, he continued, the IUU issue would be of concern to the G20 countries within the framework of global cooperation.

"We appreciate the Indonesian government which has consistently been combating IUU fishing activities and has opened the eyes of the world to the mode, crime, impact, and methods of eradicating IUU fishing activities through a legal approach," Suhufan emphasized. (ANTARA)