VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Ministry of Trade recorded that Indonesian household appliance products have reached potential transactions of USD 8.88 million or around 133 billion rupiah at “ the  Inspired Home Show 2024 “ exhibition. The event was held on 17th–19th March 2024 in McCormick Place, Chicago  United States. Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia Chicago, Listyowati in Jakarta on  Wednesday (20/3)  conveyed that this value has tripled compared to transaction achievements in the previous year's participation. Listyowati in hopes that  the “ Inspired Home Show  2024 “ exhibition  can be utilized optimally to get to know the American market and expand networks, so it builds the good image of quality Indonesian products. Moreover,  recording transactions and even it will  increase the value of exports in the future.

The Indonesian Pavilion presented eight companies exhibiting quality and value-added/environmentally friendly, recycled sustainable products, household equipment and equipment products and products with new innovations.  More than 100 retail companies visited the Indonesian Pavilion during the exhibition. In 2024,  potential buyers are more varied.  Apart from the United States,  the Indonesian Pavilion was visited by buyers including from Canada,  Mexico,  Brazil,  Argentina, Panama,  England,  Germany,  United Arab Emirates,  India,  South Korea,  China, Spain,  Italy,  Netherlands and Peru.

Meanwhile, the Head of Indonesian Trade Promotion Center in Chicago,  Iska Huberta Sinurat explained the most popular products are wooden tableware,  glassware,  home decorations and unique added value,  recycled products,  as well as environmentally friendly products. According to Iska,  at the  exhibition in 2024,  there were many importers, buyers at the Indonesian Pavilion who wanted to move their production centers to Indonesia. The  Indonesian Trade Promotion Center also received requests from other product producers from Indonesia for similar purposes. Based on Global Trade Atlas data -S&P Global,  in 2023 the value of United States imports for household equipment products from the world,  amounted to 455 billion US dollars,  decreased 2.25 percent from 2022.  For this sector,  Indonesia's exports to America were recorded at 7.4 billion US dollars. Iska emphasized,  from this data it can be seen that the opportunity for Indonesian products to meet the American household equipment product market is still wide open//

Five airports in Indonesia successfully got"The Most Enjoyable Airport 2023" award. The award was given by the Airport Council International (ACI) in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) 2023. In 2022, four new categories were introduced for ASQ Awards, reflecting the evolution of customers' need and airport effort to fulfill the transition from the pandemic. The categories included the Most Dedicated Staff, the Cleanest Airport, the Most Enjoyable Airport, and Easiest Airport Journey.

In the most enjoyable airport category, Indonesia came with five tops airports namely Adi Soemarmo International Airport in Central Java, Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International Airport in Balikpapan, Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar, Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II in Palembang, and Yogyakarta International Airport in Kulon Progo.

Besides, Indonesia also got awards for other categories. Five airports in the country, for example, join the best service category. While six airports were in the cleanest airport category, and five in the easiest airport journey. The award by ACI was based on an airport customer satisfaction survey of airports across the globe involving more than 400 airports participating in 109 countries.

The Indonesian Ambassador to Cambodia, Santo Darmosumarto and the Minister of Health of Cambodia, Professor Chheang Ra in Phnom Penh, Cambodia held a meeting on Thursday (14/3). At the meeting, they discussed the potential for cooperation of both countries particularly in the health sector. According to Ambassador Santo, as two developing countries, Indonesia has great potential to work together with Cambodia in developing the health sectors. As reported by the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh, Ambassador Santo conveyed there were at least three areas that could be the focus of this collaboration. First, developing a cooperation framework through bilateral agreements in the field of health cooperation. Second, mutually increasing human resource capacity through scholarships, internships and other interactions between medical personnel and health workers. Third, increasing trade in health products, including medicines, herbal supplements and medical devices.

Meanwhile, Minister Chheang Ra provided an overview of the Cambodian government's priorities in the health sector, including preventing infectious diseases, handling non-communicable diseases, developing social security, increasing human resources, and developing digital health. Both parties agreed that there are a lot of rooms for Indonesia and Cambodia to work together to deal with this problem.

Ambassador Santo pointed out that exports of Indonesian pharmaceutical products doubled last year compared to the previous year. This makes medicines one of the top five main export products from Indonesia to Cambodia. He further asked for support from the Cambodian Ministry of Health to facilitate sustainable access to Indonesian medicines and supplements for the growing number of Cambodian consumers.

Moreover, Ambassador Santo also explained that the number of Indonesian citizens working in Cambodia is increasing. There are some of them who do not aware of health problems in Cambodia and how to overcome them. Therefore, he also asked for the support of the Cambodian Ministry of Health to provide health education to the Indonesian people living in Cambodia. The request received a positive response from Cambodian Health Minister Chheang Rea.

This year, Indonesia and Cambodia commemorate 65 years of diplomatic relations. Indonesia is Cambodia's sixth largest trading partner. The Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh wants to advance this economic relationship through concrete cooperative activities. In this September, the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh is planned to hold a large-scale solo exhibition in Phnom Penh. The exhibition will promote bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, tourism and education, as well as in the health sector.

if you love running in the wild, Trail of The Kings (TOTK) Zero Edition will be held on Samosir Island, Lake Toba, North Sumatra, on 4 to 5 May 2024.

This event, which is organized by the Lake Toba Authority Executive Board, promises a trail running experience with beautiful views of Lake Toba. The trail is part of a series of world-class trail running, the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, the first world series to be held in Indonesia.

In a press conference in the Gelora Bung Karno area, Central Jakarta, March 15, the Main Director of the Board, Jimmy Bernando Panjaitan, said that this event was targeted to attract 1,500 participants.

Apart from that, it is also hoped that it will be able to promote Lake Toba as one of the five super priority tourism destinations in Indonesia. Jimmy Bernando Panjaitan further said that the Trail would offer more than just a cross-country running race.

Because, apart from running while enjoying the view of Lake Toba which is different and cannot be found anywhere else, participants can also follow the cultural story of the Batak tribe by visiting the villages where the Batak culture originated and where the Batak King migrated during his time.

Trail of The Kings (Zero Edition), entitled Live Your Legend, is divided into four competition categories, namely 5 kilometers, 10 kilometers, 27 kilometers and 50 kilometers. Participant registration has been opened since March 13, 2024 on the site run. trailofthekings.id and will close if the participant quota has been met.