VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

On Wednesday (24/7), a negotiation of US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer and Finance Minister, Steven Mnuchin in Shanghai, China - a first face-to-face meeting with Chinese officials after the G20 meeting ended anticlimax. The US-Chinese trade war can be expected to get more heated.In the trade negotiation that ended on Wednesday (7/31), although the two countries described the negotiations as being constructive, after the meeting, US President Donald Trump threatened again to impose a new 10% tariff on imported Chinese goods worth US$ 300 billion dollars starting September 1. This is the impact of the failure of the US and Chinese negotiators. The levy will hit a number of consumer goods such as cellphones, laptops, toys and footwear. This increases tension in the trade war that has disrupted the global supply chain and shaken the financial markets for more than a year. Another round of negotiations between negotiators is scheduled to take place in September. Although the United States and China agreed to meet again in September 2019, nothing can be sure that the meeting will create progress compared to the two-day trade talk in Shanghai, China. The most likely happening is to lead to a trade war that drags on and burdens global markets.It should be remembered that negotiations between the US and China began to heat up in May after US officials accused China of withdrawing from previous commitments. Furthermore, the US violently raised tariffs on imports of goods from China worth US $ 200 billion dollars and China also responded. So, the trade tension increases. Furthermore in September, President Trump also threatened to impose a 25% tariff sanction on Chinese goods worth US $ 300 billion dollars, which has caused unease for American retailers, Walmart and other major US companies. The trade war between the United States and China has brought about negative impact on businesspeople who have been worried about the reality. A number of industrial sectors have been affected, ranging from manufacturing, technology, services to retail. One of the most severe impacts is the manufacturing sector such as telecommunication producers and consumer products.The International Monetary Fund -IMF at the beginning of 2019 had warned that the US-China trade war would bring about an impact on many countries, especially countries such as Argentina, Turkey and Brazil which were vulnerable to sudden pressure. Slowing world economic growth has lowered its forecast for global economic growth by 3.7 percent this year and to 3.6 percent in 2022-2023. Indonesia's trade performance with China also experienced a deficit of US $ 8.48 billion dollars in the January-May 2019 period due to the US-China trade war. We can conclude that the US-China trade war will continue to have a sustainable impact on various parties, and now it is no longer a matter of two countries.

Amid rising tensions between Iran and the United States, Russia has stepped up military cooperation with Iran. In the near future, Tehran and Moscow will conduct joint military exercises in the Persian Gulf region. The Iranian Navy Commander, Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi in a statement broadcast by PressTv stated that on the basis of the two governments' agreement, naval joint training would be held later this year. The armed forces leaders of the two countries have signed agreements on joint naval exercises in the Indian Ocean, Makran waters, the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. The joint exercises of the Iranian and Russian navies were the first to be carried out, marking an increase in military cooperation between the two countries.Information about the military cooperation between Iran and Russia, might provoke a reaction from the United States which had previously invited its European allies to increase security in the Gulf region. While the Washington invitation, submitted some time ago, still has not received adequate reactions, Iran and Russia have taken more concrete steps, in the form of signing a joint training agreement.Moscow’s agreement to engage in military cooperation with Iran, however, can be seen as a form of political support for Iran which continues to be under pressure from the United States. So far, Russia and Iran are known to have collaborated militarily in the conflict in Syria. Iran certainly is still waiting for Washington's reaction to this new military collaboration with Russia.For Iran, military cooperation with Russia was clearly carried out as an effort to offset the pressure of the United States. As for Russia, support for Iran can be seen as a step to maintain its position in geopolitics, especially in the Middle East region.

Tourism Ministry held ‘Indonesia Tourism Business Gathering’ in Chicago, the United Stated of America on Wednesday (24/7). The event is a collaboration promotion of Tourism which was conducted along with Indonesian Consulate General in Chicago. In the event, the Indonesian Tourism Ministry collaborated with American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) Midwest. The Indonesian Consul General in Chicago, Rosmalawati Chalid in her press release which was received on Saturday (27/7/2019) explained that Indonesia Tourism Business Gathering is the success of various kinds of tourism promotional events which was conducted by the Indonesian Consulate General in Chicago cooperating with ASTA Midwest. Indonesia Tourism Business Gathering is one of the Indonesian government’s efforts to increase the number of the US tourists in a bid to fulfill the target of the foreign visit as many as 20 million visits in 2020.

World Customs Organization (WCO) appreciates Indonesian Customs related to modernization and development of customs’ reformation which improves significantly. That was stated by Secretary General of WCO, Kunio Mikuriya when making visit to Indonesia on July 25-26, 2019. Secretary General of WCO, Kunio Mikuriya along with Head of Regional Office of Capacity Building Asia Pacific (ROCB-AP) WCO, Norikazu Kuramoto said that in the technological era, the Indonesian Customs has shown a very good progress. Thus, in 2020, Indonesia will become a host of WCO Technology Conference which will be held in Bali and attended by around 1,000 participants from 90 countries. In the conference, it will discuss not only technology but also human resources in which Indonesian Customs has become good model which is supported by related ministries and stakeholders. Besides,  increased integrity is also able to become model for other countries.  

The works of Indonesian designer, Ivan Yogi Susanto will be displayed in ‘The Red Chamber Summer Blossom’ event which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia starting from Agust 3 – 4, 2019. This was stated by Founder of ShowCase Event & Talent Management, Nik Faris Reza Dato Khairi in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, accompanied by Assistant Director of Marketing of Eastin Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Sherizii Zack. Ivan Yogi Susanto’s collections will be displayed along with works of a number of famous designers. In addition to the fashion show which will be held on August 2, 2019, there will also be special dinner for invitees to welcome royal guest and business leaders in the world.

National Park of Mt. Palung is located in North Kayong and Ketapang regency, West Kalimantan. The park has the most complete ecosystem in Indonesia. The mountain is 1,116 meters high. That’s why, this park is named National Park of Mt. Palung. The National Park of Mt. Palung is one of natural preservation locations which has high value of natural diversity and various types of ecosystem, such as mangrove forest, swamp forest, peat swamp, fresh water swamp forest, and tropical Pamah forest. The mountain is always covered with fog.    Around 65 percent of its area is still primary forest which is not disturbed by human activities and has a lot of plants and wild animals. At the park, there are main tourism objects: Lubuk Baji, Batu Barat, Riam Berasap and Peramas hill. You can use sky or sea lines to access the National Park of Mt. Palung. If you use sky line, from Pontianak to Ketapang, the trip takes around one and a half hours. Then, it is continued to Sukadana or Melano bay by using car around 5 hours. Meanwhile, by sea line, from Pontianak directly to Melano bay, it takes around 9-10 hours. To enter to the park, foreign tourist will be charged Rp Rp 10,000 per person. Visitors who brings camera must pay extra charge Rp 2,500 per photograph and Rp 25,000 for video camera.