Category: Trading

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology stated on Monday that the Indonesian International Students Mobility Award (IISMA) is aimed to transform its awardees into global citizens.

“IISMA is a collaboration between the ministry and the Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) in creating global citizens. One of the most important skills in the 21st century is to have a global outlook,” said Nizam, the ministry’s director-general of higher education, research and technology, at the IISMA 2021 event.

The students sent to 31 countries to study in world-class universities should create international friendships and networks so that their advancement and innovation can be achieved together, he said.

“I hope you can be the nation’s ambassadors who introduce Indonesia’s culture to your friends abroad. Introduce them Indonesia’s friendliness, diversity, tourism, natural beauty, and food,” Nizam stressed.

This former dean of Gadjah Mada University’s Engineering Faculty also hoped the students would study hard during the exchange program and continue their education to a higher level. “I also advise you to continue complying with health protocols. Even though you are in developed nations, you still need to comply with the protocols because you are not only representing yourselves but also the nation,” Nizam said.

He then said goodbye to the students while praying for their success.

Meanwhile, Dwi Larso, LDPD’s Scholarship Director, said a nation will advance if it has educated citizens who love their nation, have integrity, and are honest so that they do not fall into corruption.

“Around 64 percent of the perpetrators of corruption in Indonesia are educated. We do not want intellectuals like that,” Larso stressed and hoped that the students would continue to think and act optimistically to help better the nation.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) Bambang Soesatyo, stressed the importance of vaccination to ending the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia.

Besides protecting recipients from being infected by the virus, a high vaccination rate will also enable economic recovery, especially in regions dependent on the tourism industry, such as Bali, Soesatyo said on Monday.

“Bank Indonesia’s Bali office recorded a slight increase of 2.83 per cent in Bali’s economic development in the second quarter of 2021, compared to a decline of 9.82 per cent in the previous quarter,” he said in a statement that ANTARA received in Jakarta.

Economic recovery is linked to the high vaccination rate in Bali, which is currently the province with the second-highest vaccination rate nationwide, he noted.

During his visit to observe a vaccination drive in Klungkung District along with the district head, I, Nyoman Suwirta, Susatyo stated support from the public and police-military personnel is key to accelerating the vaccination efforts.

“Therefore, the COVID-19 vaccination drive could be accelerated to increase the number of recipients at vaccination points,” he stressed.

Out of Indonesia’s total population of 208.2 million, some 50,497,940 residents have already received their first dose, and 23,777,323 have completed their second vaccine shot, according to the National COVID-19 Task Force.

Bali Province’s COVID-19 Task Force also recorded, as of August 8, around 3.089 million local residents have received their first vaccine dose, and another 1.086 million residents have completed their second shot, out of the province’s total population of 4.32 million.

A total of 4.868 million vaccine doses has been provided, with current remaining stocks numbering 1.215 million doses.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Local Fruit Festival (GBN) 2021 event is aimed at reviving demand for local fruits to support the growth of the national economy, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said.

At the opening of GBN 2021 here on Monday, the minister said that the event would help make the demand for the nation’s fruit thrive not only domestically, but also internationally.

He also expressed the hope that the event would serve as a marketing platform and raise the public’s awareness on eating local fruits.

Farming is the second largest sector after the processing industry in Indonesia and has shown consistent growth of 0.38 percent in 2020 as well as in the second quarter of 2021, Hartarto said.

The demand for fruits has also increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, both domestically and internationally, due to their immunity-boosting benefit, he noted.

“This shows the sector’s resiliency, how its presence is needed in every condition, and how it continues to provide a positive contribution to the economy’s growth,” the minister remarked.

Horticulture is a sub-sector that has the potential to grow, he noted. The government has continued to push horticultural exports, while also resolving regulations that stalled it.

Indonesia’s horticultural exports touched 645.8 thousand tons in 2020, a 37.75-percent increase compared to 2019, Hartarto disclosed.

The increase was dominated by fruit exports, which reached 389.9 thousand tons, a 30.31-percent increase compared to 2019, he added.

Indonesia’s five primary fruit export destinations are China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, he noted.

Source: Antara News

Food and beverage industry has recorded 38.42 percent contribution to Indonesia’s non-oil and gas manufacturing industry growth, the largest contributor in the second quarter of 2021, with its positive growth of 2.95 percent.

The industry has made 6.66 percent contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), acting Director General of Agro-industry at the Industry Ministry Putu Juli Ardika said.

“Food and beverage industry has brought a wide positive impact to the national economy, such as increasing added value through industry downstreaming, revenue from investment and export, and high absorption of workforces,” Ardika said in Bekasi, West Java, on Sunday.

Exports in food and beverage sector have recorded a 42.59 increase to US$19.58 billion in the second quarter of the year, compared to US$13.73 billion of export during the same period of 2020.

Ardika said the industry’s performance should be maintained during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering its significant role to supply food to the public.

The ministry, according to Ardika, has made every effort to improve the industry’s productivity and competitiveness by maintaining adequate supply of raw material and providing fiscal incentive.

“During the pandemic, we surely pay more attention to critical and essential industries to ensure their operation, including food and beverage industry,” he stated. To that end, the ministry has issued the Industrial Operation and Mobility Permit (IOMKI) amid the pandemic with stringent health protocols.

As of July 24, 2021, as many as 6,721 IOMKI have been issued for companies in agro-industry sector that employed 1.85 million people.

Ardika applauded companies that have imposed stringent health protocols and conducted vaccinations for their workers.

“Vaccination is crucial for employees’ health and furthermore it will maintain the company’s productivity,” he added.

In Bekasi, of the total 57,848 workers in agro-industry sector, 33,657 of them or some 58.18 percent have received COVID-19 vaccine shots.

The ministry targeted to administer the vaccine to 95 percent of the workers in the industry by September.

Source: Antara News

Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) – Wings Air, a subsidiary of Lion Air Group, has planned to launch its maiden flight for the Timika-Asmat-Merauke route on August 10, 2021, Asmat District Head Elisa Kambu said here on Sunday.

To this end, the Ewer Airport operator in Asmat District, Papua Province, has operated a 1,650-meter-long runway, and provided various supporting facilities needed by airlines, including Wings Air, he said.

The airport’s runway can now be used for take-off and landing by not only small airplanes but also by ATR 72-600 aircraft as the ones owned by Wings Air, he told ANTARA in a telephonic interview from Jayapura.

Meanwhile, Ewer Airport’s operational unit head, Oto Irianto, said the government allocated Rp103.4 billion to support the construction of several airport’s facilities, including a runway, taxiway, and aprons.

The flight frequency of Ewer Airport, which currently serves Susi Air, Rimbun Air, Asian One, Smart Aviation, and Airfast, is recorded at two or three flights per day, he added.

ANTARA noted that Lion Air Group also serves the Jakarta-Jayapura, Sentani-Dekai, and Sentani-Wamena flight routes through Batik Air and Wings Air.

The Jakarta-Jayapura flights are operated by Batik Air, according to Head of Lion Air group – Jayapura office, Agung Setya Wibowo, in his recent statement.

Wings Air is operating flights on the Sentani-Dekai and Sentani-Wamena routes, he said.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini emphasized the importance of empowering Papuan human resources while distributing assistance to the local community on Saturday.

“It is crucial for Papuan children to have access to education and vocational training,” she said.

The minister made the statement while visiting two human resources empowerment centers — the Indonesian Cross-Cultural Institute Complex and the Maga Education Papua office — on Saturday.

She also visited refugees of the 2019 Sentani flash flood at the Palomo refugee camp, Sentani. She interacted with children living at the camp by reading stories and asking questions.

She motivated the children and youth to remain optimistic, saying they should not let their current situation be an obstacle to their efforts to improve their lives.

“Where there is a will, there is a way,” she emphasized.

During her visit she also reviewed the location where 76 houses would be built for the refugees to provide them better living conditions.

Furthermore, Rismaharini disbursed several types of aid totaling Rp949.9 million. The aid comprised accessibility aids, cattle farming assistance, entrepreneurship assistance, essential needs aids, kiosk business assistance, as well as masks and vitamins aids.

She distributed an additional 2,540 masks and vitamin aid packages for people in Jayapura city and district. The aid for other regions will be distributed later by state-owned post service provider PT Pos Indonesia.

Meanwhile, as part of its assistance for the preparations of the 20th National Sports Week, the ministry distributed five screen printing units, one personal computer unit along with a color printer, 10 dozen T-shirts, as well as children’s storybooks.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries secured support from regional partners on the Regional Plan of Action to Combat IUU Fishing (RPOA-IUU) to eradicate illegal fishing in Indonesia’s waters.

“Since its establishment in 2007, the RPOA-IUU, with 11 member states, has played a strategic role,” the ministry’s Acting Director General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance Antam Novambar noted here, Saturday.

The RPOA-IUU is a regional initiative ratified in Bali in 2007 by 11 countries: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam.

The RPOA-IUU protocol is established to promote sustainable fishery management and strengthen the national governments’ efforts to eradicate illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices, he affirmed.

According to Novambar, bolstering the RPOA-IUU protocol is paramount to the efforts of Indonesia and ASEAN countries to eradicate illegal fishing through diplomatic collaboration.

Poachers have increasingly advanced their modus operandi, and illegal working networks should be an area of concern for the authority, he stressed.

The ministry remains committed to strengthening law enforcement and surveillance against potential illegal fishing practices, including by engaging in diplomatic efforts to cooperate and ensure regional synergy to achieve the goal, Novambar stated.

Meanwhile, Secretary of the Directorate General and Coordinator of the RPOA-IUU Secretariat Suharta noted that the protocol had received support from Australia and was endorsed by regional organizations, such as UNDP/ATSEA-2 and FAO-ISLME.

The ministry had earlier announced that the authorities had seized some 125 illegal fishing boats until the end of July 2021, with the most recent action being against a Malaysian boat for illegally fishing in Indonesian waters.

From the 125 illegal boats confiscated until July 2021, some 81 Indonesian boats were seized for violating fishing regulations, while 44 foreign boats were also seized by the authority during the same period. The confiscated foreign boats comprised 15 Malaysian boats, six boats from the Philippines, and 23 Vietnamese boats.

Source: ANTARA News

Medan, N Sumatra (ANTARA) – China remained the largest export market for North Sumatra in the first half of 2021, with total exports valued at US$750.699 million, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS).

“North Sumatra’s exports to China continued to increase amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first semester (January-June) of 2021, the exports increased to US$750.699 million,” chief of the Statistics Indonesia (BPS) Office in North Sumatra, Syech Suhaim, said here on Friday.

North Sumatra’s exports to China in the first half reflected an 87.42-percent increase compared to the corresponding period of last year, when they were valued at US$400.553 million, he informed.

North Sumatra’s exports to China mainly comprised crude palm oil and rubber, he said.

Meanwhile, North Sumatra’s imports from China also increased to US$670.434 million in January-June 2021 from US$568.352 million in the year-ago period, Suhaim said.

Overall, North Sumatra enjoyed a surplus of US$80.265 million in its trade with China in the first half of 2021, he added.

Though Indonesia recorded a deficit in its trade with China in the first half of 2021, it managed to narrow the trade gap to US$3.19 billion.

“During the first semester (January-June 2021), our trade deficit with China was US$3.19 billion, our lowest since 2005,” Minister Muhammad Lutfi informed at the Economy Dialogue, held online on Thursday (August 5, 2021).

Source: ANTARA News