VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) with First Lady Iriana departed from Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma Airport to Bangkok, Thailand to attend the 34th ASEAN Summit on Saturday morning (6/22).

In accordance with what was stated at the last Limited Meeting, through the ASEAN Summit, President Jokowi will invite ASEAN countries to unite in anticipating a trade war between the United States and China, so that economic stability in ASEAN is maintained.

"It is very important that we invite ASEAN countries to unite," President Jokowi said in the introduction to the Limited Meeting Wednesday (19/6).
In addition to the trade war issues between the United States and China, the President will also remind commitment to the completion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations which are important to be improved in responding to the development of the world economy. The issue regarding the acceleration of Rakhine State peace is also planned to be touched upon by President Jokowi.

In addition to attending the ASEAN Summit, President Jokowi will also lead the 12th Summit of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Summit and attend the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines meeting East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit 13.
President Jokowi is also planned to hold bilateral meetings with several leaders of ASEAN countries.
The Head of State is planned to be in Thailand until Sunday night on June 23, 2019.
Accompanying the President was on this agenda, Coordinating Minister for Economy Darmin Nasution, Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security Wiranto, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, and Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita. (setkab)

Minister of Finance  Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated, until the end of May 2019, the realization of the State Budget (APBN) was still relatively good. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is still above 50 and state revenues have grown by 6.2% or Rp728.5 trillion.

"When viewed from economic activity, there are several indicators that show the economy is going pretty well. This can be seen from Indonesia's PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) 51.6. A reading above 50 means that it is still expanding. So there is a significant increase in production, especially manufacturing, "said Minister of Finance in the KiTa State Budget press conference (Performance and Facts), in the Djuanda Hall, Juanda I Building, Ministry of Finance, Jakarta, Friday (6/21).

For consumption, the Minister continued, the Consumer Confidence Index (IKK) rose 128.2. The business tendency index is also positive. In general, the implementation of the State Budget until May 31, 2019 is quite good. Meanwhile, in terms of state revenues, it grew by 6.2% or Rp728.5 trillion, higher than the previous month (mtm).

"From state revenues, the growth of state revenues is 6.2%. This is better than April at 0.5%. From tax revenue growth of 5.7%. This is also better than last April's 4.7% growth. So there is strong momentum. For PNPB (Non-Tax State Revenues) the growth is 8.6%. This also improved compared to April which experienced a contraction or negative growth of 14.8%, "explained Minister of Finance.

While in terms of state expenditure, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that there was a significant increase because the allocation of social assistance had increased compared to 2018. "For state expenditure, absorption until the end of May grew compared to last year's 9.8%," he said.

The deficit realization figure until May, according to the Minister of Finance, was negative 0.79 to GDP. While the primary balance is close to 0 or a deficit of Rp. 0.4 trillion. The position of government debt is still at the level of 29.72% of GDP. (MOF)

The Ministry of Industry continues to encourage the growth of industrial estates because of its strategic role in spurring regional economic growth to the national level. Industrial areas also provide efficiency for the company's operations in it because of the availability of integrated facilities so as to boost the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector.

"In fact, with the existence of this industrial area, it can also open up many jobs from incoming industrial sector investments," said Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto at the 2019 Group Groundbreaking Ceremony for Karawang New Industry City Tenants in Karawang, West Java, Thursday (20 / 6).

According to the Minister of Industry, with the increase in employment, the income of the community will also increase and have an impact on improving the local economy. In addition, the productivity of companies located in industrial estates can be boosted in an effort to create high added value.

The development of KNIC, which poured funds of up to USD300 million, was able to attract investment of up to USD100 million from six companies that have committed themselves to being tenants. These investors include China, Taiwan, Japan and Indonesia. This integrated industrial area is targeted to be able to create 4,000 new jobs.

On this occasion, there were groundbreaking of six companies that will operate, namely PT Wook Global Technology, PT Ikimura Indotools Center, PT Ruiyuan Karawang Industrial Innovation and Development, PT Wonderful Food International, PT Brightgene Biomedical Indonesia, and PT Binamitra Kwartasedaya. They are among others engaged in the food, pharmaceutical, packaging and precision industries.

KNIC is considered to have a strategic location because it is located 47 km east of Jakarta and is right in the middle of the economic path between the cities of Jakarta and Bandung. Moreover, it is supported by key infrastructure, such as the Cikampek toll road, Jabodetabek LRT, Bandung Jakarta fast train plans, elevated toll roads, Kertajati Airport, and Patimban Port.

"As an industrial estate manager, KNIC needs to continue to improve services to industrial companies and strengthen cooperation relationships with the government and other business sectors, including participating in increasing competent industrial human resources," said Airlangga.

Appreciate

The Minister of Industry expressed his appreciation for the development of KNIC as one of the fastest investments in developing industrial estates in Indonesia. "This KNIC investment is the result of the realization of the visit of President Joko Widodo in 2016 before the G20 in Hangzhou. CFLD International is a partner at a seminar in Shanghai, "he said.

According to Airlangga, the investment also shows that Indonesia is still the main destination for investment, especially in the industrial sector. "This is as expected by Mr. Jokowi that there needs to be an increase in investment, and in Karawang we can see that the industrial sector is still passionate. Moreover, later the fiscal incentive package will be issued to support the increasingly moving business climate, "he added.

The Minister of Industry also assessed that the infrastructure built at KNIC has a trademark design and global class quality. "We are happy, CFLD continues to believe in Indonesia, because they have built industrial estates in Tangerang, which are 10 times the size of Karawang," he said.

For Indonesia, the northern corridor of Java has a strategic location in the development of industrial estates. Because, the Karawang and Bekasi regions are considered to be the Detroit of Indonesia. "Many of the automotive sectors there make it one of their hubs at the regional level," Airlangga said.

Furthermore, the government continues to be determined to develop and improve infrastructure. One of them is the Patimban Port project which can support the needs of the automotive industry. "We hope that the port will become one of the benchmarks for industrial cities. Besides that, it also becomes a showcase of industrial city best practice, "he added.

West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said that the KNIC development in Karawang confirmed the position of West Java as one of the important industrial centers for Indonesia. As the 25th industrial zone in West Java, KNIC will create profitable jobs and facilitate knowledge-sharing from existing communities and will be a stimulant for the local economy. (kemenperin)

Indonesian and Italian diplomatic cooperation and relations are consistent based on the principle of mutual respect and trust since 1949. This is indicated by trade between the two countries in the 2016-2018 period which experienced an average escalation of 12%.

"We value this good relationship. "The two countries continue to build stronger cooperation, can be seen from positive growth in the fields of trade, tourism and investment," said Minister of Industry (Menperin) Airlangga Hartarto while attending the Italian National Day event at Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta, Thursday night ( 6/20).

Airlangga assesses, there are still many opportunities that have not been fully utilized as well as greater potential in bilateral trade. "I see the export products of the two countries as complementary," he explained.

Airlangga said, when viewed from the trade balance between Indonesia and Italy, the potential that could be optimized was industrial products that dominated trade between Indonesia and Italy, namely, iron and steel, chemical products, footwear, rubber, spices, coffee and tea.

"Iron and steel, for example, Italy has become the eighth largest export market of Indonesia in 2018. In addition, Italy is the second largest manufacturing base in the European Union which supplies various types of industrial products to Indonesia," he said.

Airlangga explained, Italy is widely known as a leading country in the export of machinery and mechanical solutions, metal products, automotive, industrial and transportation equipment, chemical products and synthetic fibers, as well as electrical and electronic equipment.

"For this purpose, Indonesia is a suitable partner for Italy in industrial development. We offer a lot of quality, from high-quality workforce and production capacity, to a growing domestic market, "he explained.

In 2019, Indonesia and Italy celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations. This momentum will be commemorated through a number of activities to strengthen cooperation in the creative economy and small and medium enterprises.

Airlangga hopes that bilateral cooperation between the two countries will expand to regional and global regions. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN, while Italy is a founding member of the European Union and is a fellow G-20 member. Plus, the two countries share the same view on how to adequately address various global challenges.

"We hope that such initiatives will connect the world-recognized Italian furniture, fashion and footwear industry with Indonesia's growing creative industry. This will help the Indonesian creative industry sector to enter the global market, "he explained.

Airlangga added that the relationship between Indonesia and Italy was increasing after the signing of a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation between the two countries in 2017. In the collaboration, Indonesia has enormous renewable energy resources such as biomass, hydropower, geothermal energy, wind and solar energy. Whereas Italy has the potential for advanced technology.

"I hope a successful collaboration between PT Pertamina and the Italian oil and gas company ENI will be able to further develop high-quality bio-refineries and biofuels," said Airlangga.

Meanwhile, to further strengthen diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Italy in particular, and with other European countries in general, the Government of Indonesia is waiting for conclusions from the Indonesia-EU negotiations on Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (I-EU CEPA).

"The agreement will pave the way for more trade, investment and technical cooperation. In this case, we value the position of the Italian Government in the issue of palm oil, an export commodity that is very important for Indonesia, "he concluded. (kemenperin)