VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Campbell Stokes, a tool for measuring the duration of sunlight, in Pasaman District, West Sumatra - 

VOInews, Jakarta : Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno stated that the solar culmination celebration could drive and increase tourist visits to Pasaman, West Sumatra.

"The celebration of the solar culmination point as well as the commemoration of World Meteorological Day in Pasaman can increase tourist visits," he said during his visit to the district on Saturday.

Moreover, Uno remarked that various arts and cultural attractions owned by the people of Pasaman are increasingly attracting tourists to the area that is crossed by the equator line.

He stated that the opportunity for Pasaman to become a national destination is increasingly wide open, considering its existence as a Bonjol equatorial tourist area.

To create a superior destination, Uno said he directly instructed the West Sumatra Tourism Office to map tourist travel patterns in the area.

"The goal is that Pasaman District can contribute to the movement of Indonesian tourists amounting to 1.5 billion by 2024," he remarked.

Meanwhile, Deputy Governor of West Sumatra, Audy Joinaldy, stated that the existence of the Bonjol equatorial tourist area is a huge opportunity to increase tourism in Pasaman.

He urged the Pasaman government to propose the intellectual property rights of the "Land of the Equator" to the Ministry of Law and Human Rights before other regions proposed the same.

On the other hand, he admitted that currently, the number of tourist visits to Pasaman is still relatively low as compared to several other areas in the Minang region.

However, he believes that in the not-too-distant future, tourist visits to Pasaman will increase drastically if astrotourism, or astronomy tourism, is introduced and encouraged.

"This can be a learning place for students studying astronomy," he stated//ANTARA-VOI

The FGD on creative economy of IKN - 

VOInews, Jakarta : The Nusantara Capital Authority (OIKN) is developing the creative economy (ekraf) in Nusantara City by compiling a regional creative economy development road map (Talanpekda).

"We are currently carrying out the process of compiling Talanpekda to develop creative and creative economy in Nusantara City," OIKN Director of Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy Muhsin Palinrungi stated in Penajam, Saturday.

The Directorate of Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy of OIKN held a discussion forum involving stakeholders, including local governments and tourist destination managers, in the Nusantara City area.

He remarked that the discussion on drafting the Talanpekda was held on Thursday (March 21), and various inputs from stakeholders attending the forum were collected by the facilitation team that had been formed.

The facilitation team will thereafter conduct field visits in six sub-districts in the Nusantara City area to collect supporting data.

"We have carried out several stages to prepare the Talanpekda and are targeting completion in May 2024," he remarked.

Talanpekda is a guiding document for the OIKN Directorate of Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy to plan creative and creative development programs and activities in Nusantara City, the future capital city of Indonesia.

Creative economy development in Nusantara City is a sector that must be prioritized, as it not only contributes to the Indonesian economy but also has a positive impact on the social, cultural, and environmental aspects.

"Creative economy can grow the economy in an inclusive and sustainable manner as well as raise a positive image and national identity in addition to preserving culture and the environment," he affirmed.

He also said that the creative economy can foster creativity that encourages innovation and increases social tolerance among members of all levels of society due to increased understanding between cultures.

Creative economy development in Nusantara City can be more focused and systematic with the Talanpekda, Palinrungi remarked//ANTARA-VOI

Fed Chair Jerome Powell says it needs to see more data before deciding if to cut interest rates. (Photo: AFP/Mandel Ngan) - 

VOInews, Washington, U.S : The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep its key lending rate unchanged again on Wednesday (Mar 20), as policymakers continue discussions over when to start rate cuts and launch the next phase in their long-running battle against inflation.

The Fed has raised interest rates to a 23-year high of between 5.25 and 5.50 per cent as it looks to return inflation firmly to its long-term target of 2 per cent.

After making significant progress against rising prices last year, 2024 has been more challenging, with the US seeing a small uptick in the pace of monthly inflation.

At the same time, the unemployment rate has remained low, wage growth has eased, and economic growth for the final quarter of 2023 came in above expectations – all indications that the US economy remains in good health despite higher rates.

After two days of discussions, the Fed will publish an updated summary of economic projections (SEP) alongside its rate decision on Wednesday, which will include policymakers' views of where they expect interest rates to be at the end of this year.

"The pace of disinflation, the slowdown in employment growth, [is] not happening as fast as we thought it did a few months ago," Wells Fargo senior economist Michael Pugliese told AFP. "And so they're gonna fine-tune their policy outlook accordingly."

In recent weeks, officials at the US central bank - led by Fed chair Jerome Powell - have urged caution about cutting interest rates too quickly, and have instead said they will follow a "data-dependent" path.

"The economic outlook is uncertain, and ongoing progress toward our 2 per cent inflation objective is not assured," Powell told lawmakers in Washington earlier this month.

He later confirmed that he still expects cuts to begin this year.

Futures traders currently assign a probability of around 55 per cent that the Fed will start cutting interest rates by Jun 12, according to data from CME Group.

This marks a significant shift from the run-up to the Fed's last rate decision in January, when traders were still widely anticipating the first would come in May//CNA-VOI

Singapore's Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan meeting his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi in Amman on Mar 16, 2024. (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs) - 

VOInews, Singapore : Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan met his Jordanian counterpart in Amman on Saturday (Mar 16) amid Singapore’s ongoing humanitarian aid mission to Gaza.

The minister, who is visiting Amman from Saturday to Sunday, called on Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi.

Dr Balakrishnan said they had spoken two weeks ago about the dire situation in Gaza and how Singapore and Jordan can work together to provide aid.

"I thanked him for Jordan’s swift facilitation of our ongoing humanitarian aid to Gaza," the minister wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement that both ministers noted that the strong bilateral relationship has allowed both sides to work closely together to organise the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF) ongoing humanitarian aid mission for Gaza.

"They agreed on the pressing need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and that more channels should be explored to deliver aid to Gaza," said the ministry.

Singapore is delivering its third tranche of humanitarian assistance for Gaza via Jordan.

An A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) and a C-130 transport aircraft took off from Singapore on Friday for the mission.

At the invitation of the Jordanian government, the C-130 is staying on to conduct humanitarian airdrop operations out of Jordan with support from the Jordanian Armed Forces, MFA said on Friday.

The Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre (RHCC) led efforts to coordinate and consolidate contributions of humanitarian aid supplies from agencies including the SAF, Ministry of Health (MOH) and non-governmental organisation Relief Singapore.

Both ministers also welcomed the successful outcomes of Jordan’s Crown Prince Al Hussein’s official visit to Singapore in January 2024.

“They looked forward to stronger and deeper cooperation including in the fields of capacity building, technical and vocational education and training, and strengthening business-to-business links,” said MFA.

Crown Prince Al Hussein was in Singapore from Jan 10 to Jan 12 and met several Singapore leaders, including President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Six memorandums of understanding were signed on the sidelines of that visit//CNA-VOI