Day: March 1, 2022

Mandalika is gearing to receive tourists ahead of the MotoGP event on March 18–20, 2022, deputy for tourism products and creative economy at the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry Rizki Handayani Mustafa, said.

Currently, preparations have entered the final stage in all sectors, starting from arrangements for the entry of participants and tourists, supporting transportation, to the provision of health services, she informed.

“We only have 18 days left for the implementation. Actually, we just need to clean up; if we are in a restaurant like now, it is time to tidy up the table and set the dishes. We have done the cooking and shopping,” she remarked at an online press conference for the 2022 Mandalika MotoGP in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Handayani also assured all sectors under the coordination of Field Commander Marshal (TNI) Hadi Tjahjanto were ready.

“Every week we are tracing, so that we know what are the shortcomings that still need to be prepared,” she said.

The government is also continuing to coordinate regarding the permitted audience capacity, which has been set at 60 thousand spectators, she added.

Although there has been a downward trend in COVID-19 cases lately, efforts to prevent transmission must still be carried out, she said.

As a super-priority tourism destination (DPSP), Mandalika is enjoying a windfall with the MotoGP event, she remarked. Moreover, the sporting event has many fans around the world, she noted.

“This will lift the image and promote Indonesia in general and Mandalika in particular,” she said.

The MotoGP event will not only have an impact on the development of tourism facilities, but also other facilities that will have great benefits for the local community, Handayani said.

“We hope that West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), especially Lombok, will become an international destination,” she added.

Hopefully, drivers and tourists who attend MotoGP will also get a good impression during their visit to NTB, she said.

“So, what we need to do is to maintain a good impression on foreign tourists and participants who attend MotoGP,” she added.

Source: Antara News

APEC members are striving to ensure food security so that people do not go hungry and are well nourished, while taking care of the environment, according to the APEC Policy Partnership on Food Security.

Food security, food safety, and sustainable agriculture development have long been concerns in the Asia-Pacific, and remain a priority as the region works to overcome the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it said in a written statement issued on Tuesday.

“Despite having various individual food systems, member economies are confronted with similar vulnerabilities, and this is why collaboration will be key in our efforts to strengthen food security in APEC,” chair of the APEC Policy Partnership on Food Security, Chantanon Wannakejohn, said.

He highlighted the need for all APEC economies to improve both the quality and the quantity of food production and improve the way they trade food products.

“While we look for ways to grow and increase our production, we need to decrease the environmental impact of food value chains and support good environmental outcomes,” he said.

“APEC should have a role in addressing some of the key food security challenges as we are, collectively, significant food producers and consumers,” he added.

Sustainability has become the main focus area of APEC with officials advancing the region’s vision to restore growth that is strong, balanced, secure, sustainable, and inclusive, which also includes ensuring food security and safety, he said.

Last year, agriculture and food ministers reaffirmed their commitment to an open, transparent, productive, sustainable, and resilient APEC food system by launching a new 10-year food security roadmap, he noted.

This year, the Policy Partnership on Food Security will focus on developing concrete action to carry out the APEC Food Security Roadmap of 2030, he informed.

Leveraging the rapid advancement of digital technology over the course of the pandemic, member economies are seeking wider adoption of global data standards to improve the overall transparency and efficiency of food value chains, and a review is scheduled to be conducted in 2025, he added.

“Digitalization and other innovative technologies provide us with opportunities to strengthen food security by enhancing productivity, minimizing food loss and waste, dealing with climate change and natural disasters, as well as facilitating food waste,” Chantanon said.

Moving forward, member economies will explore domestic schemes or programs that encourage innovative products and solutions, as well as research and development of emerging technologies such as smart agriculture, he added.

Public-private partnership will also play a key role in supporting members’ individual and collective efforts to minimize the food system’s harmful impact on the environment, he said. Already, economies are looking to intensify public-private investment in infrastructure and cold-chain to reduce the current level of food loss and waste, he noted.

“We strongly believe that the future of food security and economic growth will depend on how we can foster growth in parallel with creating the balance in our economy, social, and environment front,” Chantanon remarked.

“This is also in line with the theme and priorities of APEC Thailand 2022,” he added.

Thailand has highlighted the economic model of bio-circular-green (BCG) as one of its priorities this year. Agriculture and the food sector are one of the main focus industries — the goal being product diversification and the migration of low-value commodities to value-added products.

APEC’s Food Security Ministerial Meeting is scheduled to be held in August 2022.

Source: Antara News

The role and potential of women in the economy is very crucial and should be developed, Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Bintang Puspayoga said in a press statement issued on Tuesday.

Women’s participation in Indonesia’s economy has risen significantly, she highlighted.

In the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector, Indonesian women’s contribution to the economy reached 61 percent, with almost half of MSMEs owned and managed by women, she noted.

This shows that women’s potential in work and investment is very crucial, not just for daily lives and family resiliency, but also for the nation, Puspayoga remarked.

“As the biggest economy in ASEAN, Indonesia should implement the National Economic Recovery (PEN) Program to expedite economic growth,” the minister said.

“By allocating sufficient funds through PEN, with the majority of the benefit and program recipients being women, it is expected that it can alleviate a quite large economic burden caused by the pandemic,” she added.

Puspayoga said she supports the efforts of the Indonesian Women Entrepreneurs Association (IWAPI) and Asia Africa Chamber of Commerce (AACC) in strengthening women entrepreneurs’ capacity building in investment, trade, and business.

“Representing the Indonesian government, I give the highest appreciation to IWAPI and AACC that have facilitated women entrepreneurs in investment, trade, and business,” she stated.

There are many women who have been empowered economically and assumed leadership positions, Puspayoga said.

However, there are still many women who are not quite empowered, she added.

According to UN Women, one of the factors hindering women’s economical empowerment is discrimination in the manpower market, she informed.

This discrimination can come in the form of limited access to certain sectors and wage discrimination, she explained.

A gender gap in the manpower market not only causes a decline in income of women, but also affects their status within society, the minister said.

This puts women in a vulnerable position career-wise, especially during economic crises, she added.

Source: Antara News

Transformation has been a key factor in reducing the rate of traffic jams and pollution levels in Jakarta in the five years since 2017, Jakarta Governor Anis Baswedan has said.

“Just imagine. Within five years, we are down from being the fourth most congested city in the world (in 2017), seventh (in 2018), 10th (in 2019), 31st (in 2021), and in 2021, we are in the 46th position globally (down 15 places from 2020) because of these factors,” he highlighted on the first day of the ‘Jakarta E-Mobility Event,’ organized as a part of U20 Indonesia.

The event was broadcast on the Jakarta provincial government’s Youtube channel on Tuesday.

The capital’s traffic transformation has covered two aspects: public transportation and city residents’ routines, he said.

The changes in the city’s public transport system have included the integration of public transportation modes in Jakarta and expansion of routes, he added.

He cited TransJakarta as an example. Its route has been expanded and it has now been integrated with Microtrans, he noted. The same was done with MRT and LRT, he added.

The governor highlighted the changes in residents’ routines, which followed the development of Jakarta as a whole, as another part of the transformation. People have been hoping to change their routines into something more sustainable or eco-friendly, he noted.

Moving forward, transportation will be designed to make it more comfortable, and more electric vehicles will be utilized, particularly in the TransJakarta mode, to make Jakarta free of pollution, Baswedan informed.

He said the bus rapid transit was a token of his commitment to offering more eco-friendly transportation. As part of this effort, his administration will deploy 100 electric buses on existing routes, employ electric vehicles to replace half of the feeder bus fleet, and complete the entire process by 2025, he added.

“After that, we are committed to ensuring that most areas of Jakarta are emission-free by 2030. That’s our promise,” the governor said.

To encourage the use of electric vehicles, the provincial government will offer fiscal incentives, he added. “By giving them zero percent for two- and four-wheeled vehicles. So, no electric vehicle will be subject to a transportation tax,” he elaborated.

Baswedan had re-shared @dkijakarta’s post on congestion data for the city on his personal Instagram account on February 11, 2022. The data was based on measurements made by the TomTom Traffic Index.

As per the data, Jakarta is currently ranked 46th out of a total of 404 cities globally in terms of traffic congestion.

Source: Antara News

The Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry and state-owned train manufacturer PT Industri Kereta Api Indonesia (INKA) have agreed to collaborate on building nine Red and White electric buses (BLMP) for the 2022 G20 Summit.

“The manufacturing process of the nine buses will also involve a number of universities,” head for the acceleration of BLMP development, Edi Winarno, said at the signing of a cooperation agreement for the development of the electric vehicles on Tuesday.

A number of state universities will be involved in the project—Gadjah Mada University, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS), Airlangga University, and Denpasar Institute of Art, he informed.

Under the collaboration, the varsities will produce various parts of the buses, including the smart main indicator display, body, monocoque chassis, electric powertrain, and batteries, he said. In addition, they will build battery charging stations, he added.

The lecturers who participated in the vehicles’ research and development process will be accommodated through the lecturer sabbatical program in the industry sector, he informed.

Furthermore, several students will also be involved in the project under the Freedom of Learning in Campus (MBKM) program as certified interns at PT INKA for one semester, he said.

“The development and manufacturing of the nine electric buses will cost about Rp45 billion. The cost will be borne by PT INKA and the ministry,” Winarno informed.

The enterprise will finance the provision of electric bus platforms, engineers, and technicians, as well as human resources training, he said.

PT INKA will also be responsible for the certification of the electric buses that will be used at the G20 Summit as well as investment for post-G20 business development of the vehicles, he added.

Meanwhile, the ministry will develop the vehicles’ key components, manufacture, or procure the key components and arrange them, as well as tune all key components into the bus platforms, he said.

Acting director of Research, Technology, and Community Service at the ministry, Teuku Faisal Fathani, said that higher education institutions can become drivers of sustainable development by preparing creative and innovative human resources as well as innovations.

Indonesia needs electric vehicles since fossil fuels reserves are declining while air pollution and global warming are becoming worse, he said.

Source: Antara News