VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Representatives from the European Union (EU), the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Hungary, England, Ireland, Spain, and Sweden, and FAO observed the Indonesia's sustainable palm oil management process in Riau from 8 to 9 May 2019. The visit took place at the sustainable palm oil plantation of Association of Self-Support Farmer Group (ATKS) Amanah and PT Perkebunan Nusantara V (PTPN V).

The program intends to facilitate the meeting between Indonesian sustainable palm oil stakeholders and EU. The visit of EU Representatives to Riau was facilitated by Directorate for American and European Intra and Inter-Regional Cooperation. It was part of the implementation of National Priority Projects (ProPN) through Economic Diplomacy towards Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) Recognition in EU.

The participants gathered and discussed along with the self-support and plasma farmers from ATKS Amanah, KUD Bukit Potalo, Dayo Mukti Village Unit Cooperative, and Tani Sejahtera Village Unit Cooperative; the policy makers from Ministry of Agriculture, ISPO Commission, and Provincial and Regency Plantation Agency; business players, including Asian Agri and PTPN V, Unilever; and NGOs representatives from UNDP Indonesia and World Resource Institute (WRI) Indonesia.

The discussion is expected to communicate the different points of view among those parties related to ISPO. The program is also designed to persuade the EU Representatives to directly observe Indonesian small-scale farmers' ability to fulfill the sustainability standard in accordance with ISPO.

The farmers shared their experiences about their fertilization systems and the use of natural pesticides based on the ISPO standard that had successfully increased their productivity and income. They stated that ISPO helps them dealing with poverty; they acquire adequate capacity building and there is middlemen eradication in the marketing of their palm oil production.

Aligned with the farmers, the Head of Secretary of ISPO Commission Azis Hidayat stated that EU would encourage the farmers' involvement in the ISPO scheme, since the Indonesian palm oil plantation was placed as a vital part of people's economy.

A party plays as the famers' facilitator, UNDP Indonesia, stated that UNDP together with Asian Agri facilitate ATKS Amanah and Bukit Potalo Village Unit Cooperative. The farmers have also understood the urgency of sustainability principles in palm oil production. To encourage the increase of palm oil production, Director of Plantation Product Management and Marketing from the Ministry of Agriculture claimed that the ISPO enhancement, through the Presidential Regulation, will boost the sustainable palm oil production in Indonesia; by, among others, replanting supports for the farmers.

The EU Representatives admitted that Indonesia had reached numerous improvements in their sustainable palm oil production management. They believed that the positive lead shall be maintain for further decades.

The Director of American and European Intra and Inter-Regional Cooperation, Masni Eriza, expected that EU and Indonesia would further discuss their continuous efforts in improving ISPO, in order to open the marketability of ISPO in all EU countries purchasing Indonesian palm oil.​​ (kemenlu)

In order to strengthen the link and match between the world of education and the industrial world, the government will encourage industries in the country to establish a Polytechnic.

Minister of Industry (Menperin) Airlangga Hartarto stated that if the vocational link and match is cooperation between industry and Vocational Schools (Vocational High Schools), as has been done so far. While the polytechnic, according to the Minister of Industry, yesterday several industries that built Polytechnics, such as Indorama.

They, continued the Minister of Industry, had made, then also the new groundbreaking yesterday was also Astra. "Well, of course we replicate such models elsewhere," Airlangga told reporters after attending the Limited Meeting at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Thursday (5/16) afternoon.

When asked whether there were incentives for industries that were willing to build a Polytechnic, Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto stated that if there was a need to build them, the government would facilitate them. One of them, added the Minister of Industry, is with tax facilities.

Minister of Industry said, after Astra and Indorama who built the Polytechnic, others will later follow after the tax incentive rules were issued. "We will report later," he said. (AIT / AGG / ES)

Indonesia supports the recommendation that Timor Leste becomes the 11th member state of ASEAN, in a bid to add to the strength the organization in the Southeast Asia region. The submission of East Timor as an ASEAN member will be one of the topics discussed by East Timor Foreign Minister Dionisio da Costa Babo Soares during a meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in Jakarta on Friday (5/17).

"Indonesia is, indeed, one of the ASEAN countries that consistently supported the application of Timor Leste. This is an effort to realize the vision of ASEAN founding fathers to unite all countries in the region into one organization," Indonesian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said in Jakarta on Thursday.

Indonesia's support for Timor Leste is given politically and concretely, through various capacity building assistance programs to prepare the country before entering ASEAN.

Since proposing that it become a member of ASEAN in 2011, East Timor has continued to strive to fulfill a number of prerequisites in politics, economics, and socio-culture.

"Indeed, being a member of ASEAN is a long process, because there are a number of things that must be fulfilled. For example, Timor Leste can only meet (prerequisites) to establish representation in all ASEAN member countries. This is a good step," Arrmanatha said.

In addition to Indonesia, ASEAN member countries that approve East Timor’s joining ASEAN are Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Other countries still doubt the capacity and contribution of East Timor to ASEAN's future, considering the stability of the newly independent country in 2002.

In addition to ASEAN membership, the Indonesian Foreign Minister also invited East Timor to participate in the Pacific Exposition --- an exhibition promoting trade, investment and tourism initiated by Indonesia to further increase its presence in the Pacific.

The exhibition, which is to be held in Auckland, New Zealand, on 11-14 July 2019, is intended to integrate the markets of Indonesia and the Pacific countries, including Timor Leste, which has significant economic potential.

The value of bilateral trade between Indonesia and East Timor in 2018 was recorded at 193 million US dollars, which includes a number of Indonesia's leading export products, such as motorized vehicles, palm oil, household appliances, electronic goods, food and beverages.

"More than 30 percent of East Timor's needs are supplied by Indonesia," Arrmanatha said.

In addition, Indonesia's investment in Timor Leste is quite large, at US $ 595 million, which includes the banking sector, oil and gas, beverage products, and infrastructure. (ant)

On the sidelines of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, the Indonesian Vice President, Jusuf Kalla, who was accompanied by Indonesian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, AM Fachir, met the invitation of the French President and New Zealand Prime Minister to attend the Meeting Christchurch Call for Action in Paris, France (15/5).

The Vice President in his statement expressed the importance of three things, first building community resilience and solidarity with the ideology of extremism, including Islamophobia, through interfaith dialogue and empowering youth as agents of peace. Second, improving the governance of the internet by the government through regulations and law enforcement by involving the role of the private sector in its implementation. Third, encourage Public and Private Partnerships, through various innovations, such as the application of code of conduct, encouraging supervision, regulation and independent cyber patrol.

Vice President Kalla also stressed that the government and the entire information technology industry bear joint responsibility in making the internet world safer and healthier for all.

The meeting in Paris aims to build global cooperation between the government and internet service providers to prevent internet abuse by terrorist and extremist groups. One of them is eradicating online content related to terrorism and violent extremism and preventing further dissemination by internet users such as the Christchurch tragedy.

Also present at the meeting were Heads of State and Governments such as the King of Jordan, Senegal's President, British PM, Canadian PM, Irish PM, Norwegian PM and European Commission President and CEOs of international internet-based media. The meeting agreed on the Christchurch Call for Action document which contains the government's voluntary commitment from the business sector to make a joint response in overcoming the content of online terrorism. The document also encourages a balanced approach where the joint response continues to prioritize human rights including freedom of opinion and maintain the role and positive contribution of the internet for the purpose of peace and prosperity. (kemenlu)