VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

CNN again released a list of the 50 best foods in the world in April 2021. On that list, Rendang is at number 11. CNN writes, tasting Rendang when it comes out of the kitchen will make your stomach go haywire (in a positive sense), but many people think it would be better if it is left alone overnight. Besides Rendang, there are 49 other best foods that come from various countries, from Malaysia, Thailand, to the United States.

In its article, CNN briefly writes about the ingredients and the process of making this sweet and spicy dish. CNN explained, Rendang is slow-cooked beef. It is mixed with coconut milk and spices, such as lemongrass, galangal, garlic, turmeric, ginger, and chili. Furthermore, Rendang is cooked for several hours until the meat is tender and delicious.

This Minangkabau specialty is quite easy to find outside West Sumatra, and can even be found abroad. Rendang is widely used as a food of choice for families to eat during celebrations, such as Idul Fitri and Idul Adha. Previously, Rendang won the ranking of the most delicious food by CNN in 2017.

Besides Rendang from Indonesia, CNN also includes 49 of its best food versions from various other countries, including donuts from the United States, croissants from France, and lasagna from Italy.

For the people of Blitar, East Java, Idul Fitri  is not complete without serving Madu Wongso cakes. This coarse-textured snack with black sticky rice grains is a typical dish during Idul Fitri. The taste is sour mixed with sweet and colorful packaging that makes this culinary being liked by many people.

Madumongso comes from the word Madu Rumongso which tastes like honey. This food is sweet like honey, because it is made from black sticky rice mixed with sugar. While, the sour taste comes from the addition of pineapple in the Madu Mongso mixture. The process of making Madu Mongso is quite complicated and it requires special skills. It takes two days to create a sweet taste with sour one. It  starts with cooking black glutinous rice into rice. Then, the glutinous rice is processed with tape yeast through fermentation for two days. Then, the mixture is added with coconut sugar and it is cooked on a stove for 7 hours.

After the dough-making process is complete, the dough, which has turned dark black, is left for one day. Then, it is cut into pieces to match the packaging. The uniqueness of these culinary delights is in the packaging. Madu Mongso dough is packaged in colorful oil paper. Even,  some  packs it with additional gold ribbons. Besides being present at Idul Fitri celebration, this dish  is also usually present at important events such as weddings, proposals, or celebrations.

To maintain the moment and trust with Spanish tour operators and travel agents, the Indonesian Embassy in Madrid, Spain held a webinar entitled "Reactivating Indonesia's Tourism for the Spanish Market" on Thursday (06/5). The webinar presented Iman Santosa, Director of Regional Marketing III of the Ministry of Tourism; IBM Sade Bimantara, Director of Europe I of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Agus Abdul Majid, Head of Sub-Directorate for International Immigration Cooperation of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights and Alfonso Carrasco, Director of Catur Viajes y Expediciones.A total of  96 sellers of Indonesian tour packages at Spain's largest tourism exhibition, FITUR, on 19-23 May participated enthusiastically. 

Chargé d'Affaires of the Indonesian Embassy in Madrid, Bayu Hari Saktiawan explained the importance of conveying Indonesia's latest tourism and immigration policies amid the Covid-19 transmission, particularly foreign tourist visits. On this occasion, Bayu also conveyed the efforts of the Indonesian Embassy in Madrid to facilitate Spanish travel service players at the operational level by organizing online Indonesian language classes throughout the year.

The activities have strengthened relations between Indonesian-Spanish tourism stakeholders. Besides, the webinar participants also received information on tourism policies, immigration policies and foreign policies regarding economic recovery through the latest tourism sector. To complement the participant's marketing strategies, Bayu stated that the government is working on reopening Bali, Bintan and Batam by paying attention to the developing epidemic data for the CovidD-19. In designing travel packages, Spanish travel service actors are expected to follow the  guidance of the Clean, Health, Safety and Environment Sustainability protocols -CHSE, the guidelines set by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and the latest government mobility policies. In addition, itineraries can be marketed according to the interests of the Spanish people who enjoy wellness tourism, anthropology, water sports, mountain climbing and ecotourism. With the presentation from various sides, the marketing of Indonesian tour packages can be made separately, without being combined with the destinations of other countries.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization Headquarters is in Madrid and it has recognized the implementation of the CHSE protocols through the Bali tourism industry by visiting Bali directly and holding a capacity building workshop on 7-11 December 2020. Indonesia has set a barometer of inclusive and sustainable tourism by becoming the first country which signed the Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics on 2 October 2020.

Spain plays an important role in Indonesian tourism. The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy noted that 262,452 Spanish tourists had visited Indonesia during the 2017-2019 period. It is at the seventh rank of the ten core markets of the European region. While, data from the Central Statistics Agency stated that averagely, Spanish tourists stayed in Indonesia  for two weeks and spent around US$1,600 dollars in 2016-2019.

The Spanish public hope to return to travel next summer. Local media anticipated the end of the Spanish state of alarm on May 9, 2021. From the aspect of the health profile of potential tourists, until May 5, 2021, the Spanish Ministry of Health has provided a complete dose of the vaccine to 11.4% of the population, it is equivalent to 5,394,315 people. While, at the regional level, the European Union has not  completed yet the verification system for the vaccine certificate (Digital Green Certificate) and mobility policies for tourists and non-essential travelers

Speaker of the Indonesian Regional Representative Council (DPD RI), AA La Nyalla Mahmud Mattalitti inaugurated the operational of Warung Koperasi Digital Indonesia (KDI) Nusantara  or Nusantara Indonesian Digital Cooperatives Store in a bit to support the micro small medium businesses (MSMEs) and small medium industries (MSIs).

In an official statement in Jakarta on Monday (10/5), he said the Covid-19 pandemic has hit many levels of economic sectors, including the micro-small-medium businesses. This is very different from the 1998 crisis. At that time, the MSMEs survived because only one crisis happened.

La Nyalla further affirmed that moving the MSMEs sector is crucial. He also perceived that one way that can be taken in this condition is by utilizing digitalization. He said the world is experiencing the disruption era. All countries are forced to accelerate the use of technology, and to change the way of life, the way to interact, including the transaction process in businesses.

He affirmed, besides being initiated purely by Indonesians, the Nusantara KDI Store is oriented in boosting the MSMEs and MSI. The economic movement is marked by people's purchase that will affect the running of the production sector. Moreover, if the Nusantara KDI Store focuses on staple foods, agriculture will also move.

La Nyalla added that if the production sector is moving, the Gross Domestic Product –GDP will grow. This is identical to economic growth and equivalent to both regional and central government revenue. This will bring about regional fiscal increase.

Therefore, La Nyalla appreciated the Nusantara KDI Store that has hundreds of branches spread across some provinces of Indonesia with tens of thousands members. La Nyalla said the Nusantara KDI Store should be supported by the government through related ministries or institution