VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

In the 2015-2019 period, infrastructure development became one of the priority programs of President Joko Widodo's Working Cabinet and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to improve economic growth and even distribution of development outcomes. The impact of the completion of a number of infrastructure projects, one of which contributed to the improvement of Indonesia's competitiveness.

Increasing Indonesia's competitiveness in 2019 has increased significantly. Based on the 2019 competitiveness rating released by a Swiss-based research institute, IMD World Competitiveness Center, Indonesia's competitiveness shot 11 rankings this year to rank 32 from the previous 2018 ranked 43. Four major indicators measured were economic performance, bureaucratic efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.

The increase in Indonesia's competitiveness ranking is the largest in the Asia Pacific region. In the release, increased competitiveness was due to efficiency in the government sector, as well as progress in the availability of infrastructure and the business climate.

"Even so it is still under Malaysia (ranked 22) and Thailand (ranked 25). If our infrastructure stock is stagnant, the attractiveness of our investment will be inferior compared to neighboring countries, "said Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono.

The PUPR Minister said infrastructure development was a logical and strategic choice solely to improve Indonesia's competitiveness as well as to catch up. Moreover, Indonesia had experienced an economic crisis which had an impact on postponing and stopping the construction and maintenance of infrastructure. Therefore, since 2015 the government has shifted subsidies to productive spending in the form of infrastructure, health and education development.

However, the impact of infrastructure development policies does not necessarily feel in the short term. "For that we build a lot of infrastructure in Papua, West Papua, NTT, and border areas," he said

Good competitiveness is needed to attract investment both from within and outside the country to increase national production and open jobs that will reduce the number of unemployed. "Inadequate infrastructure will make Indonesian products difficult to compete. "Low connectivity, which results in our logistics costs being more expensive than Malaysia, Singapore or even the Philippines," he said.

Minister Basuki said that in developing connectivity it was carried out in a multimodal synergy, for example the Ministry of Transportation to build ports and airports, the Ministry of PUPR would provide freeway access.

Financing is a challenge for the Government even though the infrastructure budget in the Ministry of PUPR is quite large with an average of more than Rp. 100 trillion, but it has not met the needs. In the five years (2015-2019) the total budget of the Ministry of PUPR was Rp.548.4 trillion which was divided in 2015 by Rp.119.6 trillion, in 2016 amounting to Rp98.1 trillion, in 2017 amounting to Rp106.3 trillion, in 2018 amounting to Rp113.7 trillion and 2019 amounting to Rp110.7 trillion.

Therefore, for infrastructure, the financing of which can involve the community such as toll roads, the development is through investment in business entities. Thus the existing infrastructure budget is optimized for development in border areas, remote areas and community infrastructure such as drinking water, sanitation, suspension bridges, homes for low-income communities, and increasingly expanded service coverage. (Public Relations Ministry of PUPR / EN)

The Ambassadors of UN member countries appreciated the Indonesian Presidency at the UN Security Council in May and expressed their appreciation for Indonesia's efforts to lead various DK sessions, including facilitating the achievement of a number of agreements among all DK members so that consensus was reached.

"The Indonesian presidency went smoothly with very good programs, and we appreciated the leadership of Indonesia as the President of the UN Security Council who was firm and authoritative this month," said the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia. The same thing was stated by other Permanent Representatives.

Appreciation also came from media circles at the United Nations and civil society organizations, who viewed the Indonesian Presidency as being very open, professional, productive and objective.

Since May 1, 2019, the UNSC Presidency has produced various UNSC documents / products, namely 4 resolutions, 1 Presidential Statement, 3 Press Statements and 3 Elements for the Press. Under the Indonesian Presidency two open sessions were held on the UN Mission of Peacekeeping and the Protection of Civilians; 15 open briefings; 14 closed consultations; and 3 meetings in the Arria format. There are a total of 45 activities within the 22 working days of the United Nations.

The theme of the Indonesian Presidency "Sowing the seeds of peace" is always echoed in various statements of Indonesia's position on the DK. Indonesia's strong commitment is very visible with the presence of the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi in a number of UN Security Council meetings this month, particularly related to Palestine.

"In addition to various formal meetings of the UNSC, Indonesia also held a number of meetings with the Secretary General of the United Nations, NGOs, the European Union, including initiating the Sofa Talk meeting at the PTRI in New York, where all UN Security Council members could discuss informally sensitive issues," the Indonesian Permanent Representative for the United Nations affirmed in New York, Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani.

Ambassador Djani added, "Indonesia greatly appreciates the appreciation and support of various parties during this month of the Presidency. In addition to fighting for our national interests, we also use the role of this Presidency to bridge the differences in the position of members of the Security Council to achieve world peace and security. "

The Indonesian Presidency is also used to promote the richness of Indonesian culture, through batik diplomacy and culinary diplomacy (Gastro diplomacy).

All UN ambassadors supported the Indonesian batik diplomacy, and compactly used batik in various UNSC meetings, including at the final reception of the Indonesian Presidency on 30 May 2019, at the UN Headquarters in New York.

"Indonesian batik brings color to the UN Security Council and we are happy to use batik," the UN Security Council Ambassador said.

The presidency's final reception was marked by a combination of traditional and modern cultural performances with the appearance of the Saman dance from Saman Kecapi Leuser Gayo and Indonesian student bands from Berklee School of Music in Boston. Indonesian popular songs accompany poco-poco dance and line dance, and invite all invitations to participate, led by Ms. Yanti Djani and Dharwa Women Association of the Indonesian Republic of Indonesia. (Source: Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia New York)

Attended by more than 50 state representatives and representatives of industry, international NGOs and international indigenous organizations, Indonesia successfully led international meetings to encourage immediate achievement of intellectual property protection of genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expression (SDGPTEBT). The meeting was opened by the Permanent Representative of Indonesia for the UN, WTO, and other international organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Hasan Kleib.

"Congratulations to Indonesia, which has successfully held activities that are very beneficial for all stakeholders related to negotiating the protection of SDGPTEBT in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The holding of this conference further strengthened Indonesia's leadership in relation to the issue of SDGPTEBT protection which has been proven since 2008 when Indonesia took the role of coordinator of the 58-member Like Minded Group of Countries (LMCs) from Asia, Africa and Latin America ", as stated by the Nigerian delegation representing all Conference participants.

The main objective of the holding of this International Conference is to encourage the ratification of the international agreement for the protection of the SDGPTEBT and to ensure the continuation of the negotiating mandate for ratifying the agreement.

"As a country that is rich in genetic resources (megabiodiverse country) and traditional culture and knowledge, the protection of SDGPTEBT is part of a national priority that needs to be fought for," said Ambassador Hasan Kleib in his opening speech at the international conference.

Indonesia is one of 17 megadverse countries in the world, which has a diversity of flora (more than 20 thousand) and fauna (more than 350 thousand) as well as cultural knowledge and expressions (more than 7 thousand). The value of the global trade in SDGPTEBT annually reaches more than 800 billion US dollars and has the potential to contribute to national economic income. Without the recognition of international intellectual property protection for SDGPTEBT, genetic resource assets and Indonesian culture have the potential to continue to be abused and utilized by foreigners.

The international conference on intellectual property protection for the SDGPTEBT was held in Montreux, Switzerland. Indonesia is one of the key countries negotiating international agreements related to SDGPTEBT at WIPO. Since 2012, Indonesia has served as Deputy Chair of negotiations on SDGPTEBT protection and since 2008, Indonesia has been the coordinator of the Like Minded Group of Countries during the SDGPTEBT negotiations. (Source: Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia Geneva)

The unique and exotic diversity of traditions, culture, nature and life of Indonesian people attract Sergey Kovalchuk, a photographer and traveler from Russia. With a touch of professionalism, high-quality, beautiful and attractive photographs are produced.

Sergey Kovalchuk showed his shots from an expedition to Indonesia in a photo exhibition "Indonesia. The Territory of Ancient Traditions (Indonesia. Territoria Vekovykh Traditsii) ". The exhibition was held in one of the museums in the center of Moscow, the State Museum of Oriental Art. The exhibition lasts for 19 days from May 29 to June 16, 2019.

Unmitigated a number of photos of the collection on display with a size large enough, 300 x 208 cm and 208 x 140 cm that adorn the park of the Museum. Visitors can immediately clearly see these interesting photos even from a distance away. Among the photos are those that describe the tradition of rock jumping in Nias, Eid al-Fitr celebrations, Balinese art performances, Papuan traditions, Pacu Jawi or Minangkabau cattle races, and others.

Sergey Kovalchuk not only exhibited his work at the exhibition, but also enshrined it in a collection book "Indonesia. The Territory of Ancient Traditions ". This 484-page book illustrates the diversity of Indonesian culture and traditions, many of which are traditions that have emerged since ancient times. Books printed using high-quality coated paper contain around 700 photos that are accompanied by information on each photo.

Through the book, Sergey Kovalchuk would like to convey to the reader about his interesting photo collection on the traditions of celebrations, rituals, traditional ceremonies, competitions and performances, dances and music, and the lives of Indonesian people.

The opening of the exhibition and book launch was held on May 29, 2019 ago. The event was attended by more than 150 invited guests, including photographers and news reporters. The event was also attended by the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus M. Wahid Supriyadi, Director of the MGIMO ASEAN Center Victor Sumsky, Executive Director of the Russian and Indonesian Friendship Cooperation Institute (LKPI) Mikhail Kuritsyn, and First Deputy Director General of the State Museum of Oriental Art Tatyana Metaksa.

Sergey Kovalchuk has visited and traveled to various parts of Indonesia several times from the western tip of Sumatra island to the east of the island of Papua. Sergey Kovalchuk first visited Indonesia in 2010, held a photo exhibition about Indonesia in Moscow in 2011, and even published a photo book about Indonesia.

In 2015 Sergey Kovalchuk visited Indonesia again and after his visit came the desire to re-explore Indonesian culture and traditions. In the 2016-2019 period Sergey Kovalchuk and his team visited Indonesia 12 times. They traveled around various regions of Indonesia to learn about culture, tradition and enshrining it through snapshots of photographs.

"Indonesia is a very important country. I really like Indonesia, "said Sergey Kovalchuk at the opening of the exhibition and the launch of his book.

Sergey Kovalchuk explained that making this book requires a long process, including discussions with the team and a number of other parties. Various ideas emerged, but eventually they were focused on the traditions of the Indonesian people that still existed and were preserved. Therefore, the book is titled "Indonesia. The Territory of Ancient Traditions ".

Ambassador Wahid in his opening remarks at the exhibition and book launch Sergey Kovalchuk said Indonesia was a unique country with a diversity of cultures and traditions. What is witnessed here is the other side of Indonesian tradition. Ambassador Wahid supported Sergey Kovalchuk's efforts in organizing a photo exhibition about Indonesia in Russia. This activity can better provide an understanding of Indonesian culture and traditions to Russian society.

"This photo exhibition is a very good moment to start the 70th anniversary of Indonesian and Russian diplomatic relations in 2020. I also invited Sergey Kovalchuk to showcase his work at the Indonesia Festival on August 1-4 this year in Moscow," Ambassador Wahid said.

After the State Museum of Oriental Art, this photo exhibition is planned to be held at the All-Russia Exhibition Center (VDNH), Moscow on 19 June-7 July 2019. (Source: Indonesian Embassy in Moscow)