VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Saudi Arabia has barred an Iranian delegation from an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Jeddah on Monday where U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan will be discussed, the Iranian foreign ministry said.

Saudi authorities have not issued visas for the Iranian participants, ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said.

“The government of Saudi Arabia has prevented the participation of the Iranian delegation in the meeting to examine the ‘deal of the century’ plan at the headquarters of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,” Mousavi said, the Fars news agency reported.

Mousavi said Iran has filed a complaint with the OIC and accused Saudi Arabia of misusing its position as the host for the organization’s headquarters. There was no immediate comment from Saudi officials.

Iranian officials have condemned Trump’s plan for resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine as a non-starter after it was officially announced last week. The Palestinian leadership has rejected the plan, saying it heavily favours Israel and will deny them a viable independent state.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are locked in a proxy war as they vie for influence across the Middle East. They support opposite sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. (TEMPO)

Today’s Diplomatic Corner is from Sandakan, Malaysia.

Indonesian Consul General Kinabalu, Krishna Djelani inaugurated a new school building for the Community Learning Center (CLC) of Ladang Resort in Sandakan, Malaysia on Monday (27/1). Krishna Djelani in his speech said that the existence of CLC is a manifestation of the government's presence to ensure the fulfillment of the educational rights of Indonesian Migrant Workers’ children. Without attention and support of management, it is impossible for “the plantation’s kids" to go to school. In addition, the company’s support is a manifestation of the company’s social responsibility. The new building which can accommodate 100 students, is needed because the number of students has increased.

from Geneva, Switzerland.

Indonesia utilized the tourism exhibition Salon des Voyages Quo Vadis 2020, which was held in Geneva starting from January 24-26. Salon des Voyages Quo Vadis was a tourism exhibition that was participated by travel agents, tourism operators, airlines and also tourism destination countries. At least 1000 people were noted as visitors to the event. Indonesia displayed typical archipelagic decoration, from batik, puppets, Balinese statues and also information brochures of tourism destinations in Indonesia. Besides, Bali and Lombok, other destinations were also promoted such as Rajat Ampat and Labuan Bajo.

The last information is from Moscow.

Indonesian Defense Minister, Subianto visited Moscow and met with Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday (28/1). Minister Prabowo Subianto, in the meeting with minister Sergei Shoigu as quoted in a press release on Wednesday, said that the relationship between Indonesia and Russia in defense and security fields have been long established. Russia, which was earlier Soviet Union has assisted Indonesia in the military-technical field many times. According to minister Prabowo, Indonesia wants to develop a relationship with Russia. Meanwhile, Russian minister Sergei Shoigu said that Indonesia is one of the important partners in the Asian Pacific region. Cooperation with Indonesia is based on relationship and mutual trust.

Bima is one of the regencies in Sumbawa island, West Nusa Tenggara province. Historically, this city was the centre of the Bima Sultanate. With the cultural heritages the city has, Bima city offers Islamic cultural tourism. You can visit Asi Mbojo or the sultanate palace. Besides Asi Mbojo, you can also find the graves of kings and preachers, public games and arts, as well as religious ceremonies. Bima not only has the richness of cultures, but also its own natural tourism attractions. Due to its location on the side of the bay, Bima certainly has beautiful marine tourism. One of them is Wane beach.

Wane beach is located at Tolotangga village, Monta district, which is around 6 kilometres from Sultan Muhammad Salahudin airport. Wane beach has white sand which stretches widely, with gentle waves and clear sea water. Going to the beach, you can enjoy the freshness of water by swimming or playing on the white sand.  If you want to stimulate your adrenalin, you can try surfing at the beach.

You can also see dolphins jumping among the waves at Wane beach. To see the dolphin attraction, you must rent a fisherman’s boat a day before the activity. The best time to watch the attraction is in the morning, around 9 a.m. The travel time to see the dolphin attraction is only half hour by boat. For those who did not bring their own food, do not worry because the beach has many food stalls which provide a variety of food.

Geographical conditions that spread as an archipelagic country, as well as having air and sea crossings, require Indonesia to have a capable defense to maintain its sovereignty. To achieve this, the Minister of Defense, Prabowo Subianto has visited 7 countries in Asia and Europe to enhance the defense and security capabilities of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. To show determination to change and to improve the Main Weaponry System -Alutsista, Ministry of Defense held an arms exhibition at the Ministry of Defense Office in Jakarta on Thursday (1/23/2020) and was continued by a TNI Leadership coordination meeting attended by President Joko Widodo.

However, the question arises which is more important to build or buy defense equipment from overseas (?)

President Joko Widodo, in a limited meeting at the Surabaya Submarine Hangar, after seeing the submarines made in Indonesia in collaboration with South Korea, has not yet decided to purchase weapons from foreign parties. However, he has instructed to reform the entire defense industry system. He also wants the defense equipment development program to strengthen Indonesia's defense industry. Indonesia needs to reduce its dependence on imported weapons.

Meanwhile, Minister of Defense, Prabowo Subianto, previously before the parliament members, said Indonesia is a country rich in natural resources and has always been the target of many other nations. Thereby, strengthening and modernizing defense equipment is a must. With the existing budget, the Ministry of Defense will implement four principles: being appropriate, efficient, economical, and geopolitical and geocentric aspects.

At present, the strengthening of Indonesia's strategic defense industry continues to be developed and increased in line with the allocation of funds worth Rp 126 trillion for the defense and security budget. Undoubtedly, increasing defense capability both in terms of weaponry and human resources is one of the important aspects of maintaining the sovereignty of the nation and state. Especially with the recent incident in Natuna Island, where there was a unilateral claim from China over the boundaries of Indonesia's economic exclusive zone. Surely, Indonesia must have sophisticated weapons to maintain its regional sovereignty. In addition, the experience of the arms embargo by producing countries has provided lessons for Indonesia to be independent in strategic industries. Technology transfer cooperation is the right step to becoming an independent nation in the strategic defense industry.