A long history of bilateral relations between Indonesia and the Netherlands was recorded in the minds of the two leaders of the countries from time to time. This certainly also applies to King Willem Alexander and President Joko Widodo.During his visit to Jakarta, King Willem expressed his apology on the violence the Dutch forces committed against Indonesia during the period from Indonesia's declaration of independence in 1945 until 1949, when the Netherlands recognized it as an independent nation

King Willem in a joint press conference at the Bogor Palace on Tuesday (10/3/2020) said, in the years after the proclamation was announced, a painful event occurred and resulted in many casualties. In fact, the King also said that his country recognized Indonesia's position as a politically and morally independent country. In response to this, President Joko Widodo also stated that the two countries could not erase past history, but can make it a lesson to build an equal relationship, mutual respect and mutual benefit.

"I want to say that we certainly cannot erase history, but we can learn from the past. We make this historical lesson to strengthen our commitment to build an equal relationship, mutual respect and mutual benefit," said Jokowi.

King Willem and Queen Maxima came to Indonesia with hundreds of businessmen and important ministers to discuss cooperation between the two countries. Both delegations agreed to strengthen economic cooperation and human resource development. (KBRN/11.3'20/mar/Pradipta/AHM)

Indonesia reported the first possible community transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease in the country on Tuesday, after a citizen with no link to certain confirmed cases or travel history to affected countries tested positive for the virus.

The 33-year-old man was Indonesia’s 27th confirmed COVID-19 patient, the Health Ministry’s Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Achmad Yurianto said as he announced eight new coronavirus cases in the country on Tuesday.

“We suspect that [Case 27] is a local transmission. We are currently tracking the source of transmission because this is not an imported case and it’s still unknown which cluster he is part of,” Achmad said.

The patient did not have a clear link to the other confirmed COVID-19 patients in the country. Case 27 did not contract the virus abroad and his exposure to coronavirus was still vague, Achmad said

“Up until this point, the source of local transmission of [Case 27] is still a question,” Achmad said, adding that authorities were currently looking to trace and identify the source of the exposure.

Achmad, however, refused to provide further details about the location of Case 27 and where the patient was currently treated.

The confirmation of eight new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday has brought the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Indonesia to 27 so far.

Five of the eight new cases were imported cases, meaning that the patients likely contracted the virus outside of Indonesia.

They included Case 22, a 36-year-old woman; Case 23, a 73-year-old woman and Case 24, a 46-year-old man — all of whom are Indonesian citizens. Two other imported cases, namely Case 25 and Case 26, were a 53-year-old woman and 46-year-old man both foreign nationals.

Achmad said that Case 20 and Case 21 — a 70-year-old and 47-year-old women — were identified as having had contact with confirmed COVID-19 cases in Jakarta.

He stopped short when asked to specify the details of the hospitals where the patients were treated.

Bayu Krishnamurthi, who heads the National Committee for Avian Flu Control and Pandemic Preparedness between 2006 and 2010, previously told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview that “community transmission” — in which a patient with no travel history to countries with the virus outbreak or no specific contact with other infected patients — “is a more serious condition” than direct transmission.

Achmad further called for the public to remain vigilant and those who were sick with flu or had a sore throat or cough to wear face masks so that they would not spread their illness to others.

“We have to put protecting our health upfront with regards to preventing the spread of COVID-19 disease,” he went on. (The Jakarta Post)

(REUTERS)

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is preparing to release 1,500 Taliban prisoners in coming days, according to a decree viewed by Reuters on Tuesday, as the United Nations backed a U.S.-led push to end Afghanistan’s 18-year war.

The two-page decree signed by Ghani, which requires all released Taliban prisoners to provide “a written guarantee to not return to the battlefield”, is aimed at paving the way for direct talks with the hardline insurgent group.

The United States warned the Taliban that the current high level of violence was “not conducive to advancing the peace process” after the 15-member U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution.

The United States signed an agreement with the Taliban last month for a phased withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces if the Taliban keeps its commitments. It also prescribed the start of talks between the insurgents and an Afghan government delegation on a political settlement to end decades of conflict.

The prisoner release decree, which is expected to be made public later by Ghani’s office, said the process will begin in four days.

“The process of releasing 1,500 Taliban prisoners will be completed within 15 days, with 100 prisoners walking out of Afghan jails every day,” it said.

The decree said talks between the government and the Taliban will run parallel with the prisoner release, and requires the insurgents to stick to commitments to a reduction in violence. (Reuters)

Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag (ANTARA)

The Netherlands supports Indonesia to produce sustainable palm oil as was manifested in a memorandum of understanding inked by the Dutch Government to apply a program to enhance knowledge and technology of Indonesia’s palm farmers.

"That is the goal we want to achieve, specifically working with farmers to improve their knowledge and technology, teach them, and make them produce palm sustainably," Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag told Antara in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Kaag noted that the program can help Indonesia tackle the problems of deforestation and carbon emissions that might arise simultaneously as producing palm oil.

This undoubtedly should be built with awareness on sustainable development, taking into account the fact that palm oil is still a major export commodity for Indonesia, including while transitioning into a new economy.

"Hence, I believe in a transformative approach for which we had signed the contract last year. I am optimistic of greater progress being achieved in this program," Kaag remarked.

The scale of the program is viewed as being quite small to be able to cover all palm oil farmers in Indonesia.

To this end, Kaag has encouraged other parties, including the Government of Indonesia, to broaden the scope to conduct similar programs.

"That can be quite interesting. However, this could be what the European Union Government is on the lookout for," Kaag remarked.

The Netherlands imports some 25 percent palm oil, most of which is processed and then re-exported.

Kaag noted that the program offered a concept of how sustainable palm oil production can be implemented.

"I will encourage my friends at the Asian Development Bank and other big investors to ensure that this program is accelerated and implemented in other areas," she stated.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto had earlier stated that the issue of discrimination against Indonesian palm oil should not mar the country's multilateral relations with member countries of the European Union.

"I have highlighted that discrimination against palm oil exists, especially for biofuel or biodiesel, where Indonesia's market for biofuel in the European Union reaches US$650 million, while the total value of our trade with Europe reaches US$31 billion," he revealed.

Hartarto has accompanied President Joko Widodo while receiving the visiting European Union-ASEAN Business Board delegates. They held talks on potential areas of cooperation between Indonesia and corporations from European countries.

Hartarto believed there is potential for trade figures between Indonesia and the European Union to increase. He was also optimistic of the palm oil dispute being settled well. (ANTARA)