Beijing ( Berita ) - Chinese President Hu Jintao thanked the Indonesian government for its support for the holding of the Olympic Games in Beijing and its assistance during the earthquake which hit Sichuan province on May 12, 2008.......
The Indonesian government not only sent construction materials, but also medical personnel to China. Besides, the Indonesian government had also given great support for the holding of two major sports events in China, Hu said in the website of the Asia-Europe (ASEM-7) Media Center here on Thursday.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held a meeting with Hu on the planned holding of the 7th ASEM summit here on October 24-25, 2008. The ASEM summit will be attended by 43 heads of state or government.
Hu said he hailed the meeting as a chance to exchange ideas with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and discuss bilateral relations and other issues of common concern.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had earlier called on all countries and international financial organizations to jointly deal with the global financial crisis. “All parties, including international financial organizations should jointly attempt to solve the current global financial crisis,” President Yudhoyono said here on Thursday before hundreds of businessmen attending the 11th Asia-Europe Business Forum.
International organizations such as World Bank, IMF, ASEM and ASEAN Plus 3 (China, Japan, and South Korea), should together think about measures and efforts to deal with the financial crisis, he said. The organizations should also hold dialogs to address the financial crisis and help recover the global financial condition, he said.
“The 7th ASEM Summit which will be held for two days, could also become a forum for heads of state to meet and discuss concrete actions to deal with the financial crisis,” the President said. President Yudhoyono is on a five-day visit to China, from October 22 to 26, 2008, among other things to attend the ASEM Summit
Jakarta ( Berita ) : Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to promotethe World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) for the progress ofMoslems.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi agreed at a meeting here on Monday to continue promoting the WIEF which has now become anofficial annual forum meeting of Islamic countries.
“President Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Badawi alike agreed this process is important to improve cooperation among Islamic communities and build a bridge to connect the Islamic and non-Islamic worlds in the midst of the current globalization,” Indonesian presidential spokesman Dino Pati Djalal said.
The fifth WIEF meeting opened here on Monday was attended by several heads of state/government including the Uni Arab Emirate crown prince, the deputy prime minister of Qatar, Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Morocco prime minister Abbas El Fassi, Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Badawi, Yaman’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh and Somali president Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.
The theme of the meeting that would last for three days until March 3 was “Food and Energy Resilience, Curbing the Impact of Global Financial Crisis.”
The WIEF was first launched in 2005 by among others Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Malaysian Prime Minister Badawi and Pakistanie Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz as a means for dialogue for business cooperation between Moslem and non-Moslem businessmen to promote communications to solve economic problems.
Besides expressing their committment to advancing the WIEF, Dino said, the two leaders also discussed the annual Indonesia-Malaysia consultation meeting plan in the middle of this month.
“The planned meeting will discuss various aspects of bilateral relations between the two countries. It would also hear a report from the Eminent Persons’ Group set up by the two leaders,” he said. Dino said President Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Badawi also discussed the Asean summit that was just concluded in Hua Hin, Thailand.
The two leaders hoped the Chiangmai Initiative worth US$120 billioncould immediately be realized after the Asean + 3 financial minisers’ meeting in Bangkok in April. President Yudhoyono received Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi of Morocco who also attended the WIEF, before meeting with prime minister Badawi.
Dino said President Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Abbas agreed to increase the volume of trade between the two countries which now still stood at US$90 million in value although its growth rate reached 25 percent.
He said Indonesia and Morocco also agreed to make the relations between the two countries closer in view of the fact that the two countries had moderate Moslem population who wished to implement democracy. ( ant )
Sub-regional cooperation under the framework of IMT-GT growth triangle and BIMP EAGA signed by Indonesia with its neighboring countries Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, and the Philippines is believed to have been running ineffectively.
Certain cooperations may have been made, but to some extent they have yet to reach the expectations of all countries involved. Many business opportunities have yet to grabbed by the private sector in Indonesia in particular, and those in neighboring countries in general.
It is for this reason that President Susilu Bambang Yudhoyono who attended the 14th ASEAN Summit in Thailand on Saturday asked the provincial administrations to get involved directly in intensifying sub-regional cooperation especially in the framework of the Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) and Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA)
“I really want to encourage the private sector in the provinces and districts to be more active in grabbing these opportunities,” the president said a press conference in Hua Hin, Thailand, on Saturday. Yudhoyono said after the government had prepared a roadmap on cooperation, it would not run maximally without the active participation of the regions.
“The blueprint and policies are good, but if the regions are not pro-active or if businessmen in the regions do not pick up the ball, I think, we will not gain much,” he said. Therefore, the provincial administrations in Indonesia need to motivate the private sector to use the cooperation in the framework of IMT-GT and BIMP-EAGA.
“Providing more room to the private sector and regional governments are a good opportunity for the governors in Sumatra covered by IMT-GT cooperation area as well as the governors in the eastern regions of Indonesia under the framework of BIMP-EAGA to be more active in finding cooperation opportunities,” the president said.
President Yudhoyono emphasized that the sub-regional meeting would only be successful if the governors in Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand and also the private sector would participate in the effort.
The government, he said, could only give a cooperation framework and a blueprint while their implementation would be in the hands of the local administrations and businessmen. The president said it was the governors, regional heads, communities and businessmen in the regions that had to stand in the vanguard of making use of the cooperation opportunities.
The IMT-GT and BIMP-EAGA were established for promoting a growth area based upon sub-regional cooperation scheme focusing on investment, technology transfer, production cooperation and exploitation of natural resources in the participating regions of participating countries.
At present the IMT-GT covers five provinces in South Thailand namely Narathiwat, Pattani, Satun, Songkhla and Yala, five regions in North Malaysia namely Kedah, Penang, Perak, Perlis and Selangor and a number of provinces in Sumatra namely Aceh, North Sumatra, South Sumatra, West Sumatra, Bengkulu, Jambi and Riau, while BIMP-EAGA covers the provinces of North Sulawesi, Gorontalo, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and South Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, South Philippines in Mindano, Brunei Darussalam and Serawak, Malaysia.
Having heard a report from acting coordinating minister for the economy, Sri Mulyani on the development of cooperation in the framework of BIMP-EAGA, the president intensified his calls on local administrations to be active in exploiting cooperation potentials and sources that have been built at national level, Dino Patti Djalal, presidential spokesman, said.
“However, there was a lot of discussions on issue of land, air as well as sea transportation infrastructure that link the three sectors and require further development,” Dino quoted the president as saying.
Leaders of the participating countries in the framework of BIMP-EAGA during the 14th ASEAN summit in Hua Hin were reported to have agreed for the development of the BIMP-EAGA to become a reliable food producing center because of the region’s potentials, land fertility and agricultural knowledge.
“There have been calls on local administrations to be active in exploiting cooperation potentials and sources that have been built at national level,” Dino said. In the meantime, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed readiness to help the process of integration of areas in the BIMP-EAGA.
“The ADB president has just expressed his commitment to continue helping develop the cooperation. Being discussed now is how to smoothen border-crossing trade and others and the best incentive to increase investment, trade, tourism and economic prosperity,” Dino said.
Dino said leaders of the participating countries had also proposed a mechanism for discussing the cooperation more integratedly. The IMT-GT and BIMP-EAGA cooperation frameworks have two functional mechanism namely an annual ministerial- and senior official-level meeting and a business council jointly run with the private sector.
The two sub-regions have large economic potentials in view of their vast area, abundant manpower and natural resources and a vast market of 90 million people.
However, the IMT-GT and BIMP-EAGA will be a promising growth magnet if they are combined with the financial strength and business expertise of the private sector. The region offers economic opportunities in industry and farming including on commodities such as rubber, palm oil, fruits and vegetables, marine products, oil, natural gas and wood, Dino said. ( ant/ Eliswan Azly )
Jakarta ( Berita ) : The uncertainty which is now surrounding the life of Muslim Rohingya refugees in Aceh has prompted some organizations in Indonesia to call on the government to entrust them with the task of providing the refugees with assimilation programs.
A voluntary organization called Medical Emergency Rescue Commitee” (MER-C) of Indonesia proposed to help and save Muslim rohingya boat people who were found stranded off the Aceh coast in January and Fenruary 2009, with assimilation programs.
“They can be helped through assimilation programs, because Islamic boarding schools in Aceh are ready to accept them,” MER-C Indonesia Chairman dr Sarbini Abdul Murad said on his cell phone on Thursday.
Sarbini was in East Aceh district of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam to meet Muslim Rohingya refugees to provide them with health services. As many as 391 Rohingya refugees were stranded on Weh Island of Sabang and Pidie, East Aceh district and their fate came under public highlight both in Indonesia and the world.
The government had been advised not to deport them to Myanmar as they had been evicted from their villages, facing persecution and ill-treatment by the Myanmarese ruling military junta regime because they had been deprived of their Burmese citizenship.
The Rohingyas, totaling around 800,000 people in Myanmar are not recognized by the military junta as Myanmarese citizens, thus making them stateless. The military junta has brutally repressed them, and millions have risked their lives fleeing their country.
The Rohingyas, who are believed to be 7th century Arab settlers whose state was conquered by Burma in 1784, faced religious persecution because they were Muslims in a Buddhist majority country.
According to Sarbini, the process of assimilation proposed by MEC-Indonesia could quickly solve the problem facing the refugees as many Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia were ready to accept them. “The problem now is whether or not there is a good intention to help them,” said dr Sarbini who had just returned from the Gaza Strips in the Middle East a few weeks ago to give medical assistance to Palestinians in the conflict zone in the post Israeli military strike last month.
It was no longer a public secret that the Muslim Rohingya ethnic group often fell victim of torture, discrimination, persecution, repression and murder in the country of their birth and they also had to undergo such treatment in transit country before they were found adrift off the Aceh coast. “Repressed communities like the Muslim Rohingya ethnic group should be helped in a bid to find the best solution through humanitarian approach,” he said.
Sharing dr Sarbini’s view was Dr Djoko Wiyono of the Ukhuwah Jama’ah Muslimin (Hizbullah), a domestic Islamic organization which also symphatized the Muslim Rohingya refugees, saying that some Islamic boarding schools under the management of his organization were ready to accept Rohingya refugees under an assimilation program.
Dr Djoko Wiyono, the head of the Ukhuwah Jama’ah Muslimin (Hizbullah), said on Saturday that Muslim Rohingya refugees left their homeland to avoid repression and persecution by the Myamarese junta, as they were regarded as stateless persons. “Hence, the government should not categorize them as economic migrants,” he said, adding that the assimilation program proposed by MEC-Indonesia was perceived as the only way to find the best solution.
The government should not worry about food and so on, as some Islamic boarding schools had no objection to meet their daily needs during the assimilation program. Deporting Rohingya asylum seekers who were stranded in Aceh Province recently will be perceived as inhuman by a country which fails to understand the problem confronting the Rohingya refugees.
In the meantime, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda could not meet the requests of some organizations proposing for assimilation program for the Rohingya refugees. He stressed that the government is currently making a second stage verification of the 391 refugees who left their homeland for Indonesia or other destinations. “Based on the results of interviews we have conducted with them by inviting translators from our embassy in Yangoon and Dhaka (Bangladesh), it was known that their motivation and departure was to seek better economic life,” he said.
Hassan also said that the government believed there was no political motivation to seek a political asylum in another country. Therefore, he added, based on the first stage of verification the government thought to deport them to their home countries. “But at present we are facing the finalization of the second stage verification in detail in order to arrive at a better decision .”
In further developments, the foreign minister in a recent statement on Feb 6, the government of Indonesia was currently taking diplomatic steps to handle the Muslim Rohingya refugees by intensifying cooperation with international organizations such as the international organization for migrants (IOM), UNHCR and ICRC.
The government of Indonesia is consistent to see the problem as an international issue, the solution of which should involve their homeland, transits and destinations, Wirajuda said. Such diplomatic step taken by Indonesia by asking the government of their homeland to stop the flow of the boat people from leaving their country. Indonesia also asked their country to stop, to reduce the reason regarded as the causes of their fleeing their country.
“Their their homeland should also stop the violation of human rights either in the form of bad treatment of Myanmarese minority group like the Rohingyas, torture during their transit which eventually caused them to go to the sea to save themselves from inhuman treatement,” the minister said.
The refugees ever dropped in on the beach of Myanmar and landed in Thailand. They claimed to have suffered much from torture from the Thai security authorities who also took the refugees into custody and pummeled before being cast adrift in a boat that had been stripped of its engine ran out of fuel, he said. ( ant )
Jakarta ( Berita ) : Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to promotethe World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) for the progress ofMoslems.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi agreed at a meeting here on Monday to continue promoting the WIEF which has now become anofficial annual forum meeting of Islamic countries.
“President Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Badawi alike agreed this process is important to improve cooperation among Islamic communities and build a bridge to connect the Islamic and non-Islamic worlds in the midst of the current globalization,” Indonesian presidential spokesman Dino Pati Djalal said.
The fifth WIEF meeting opened here on Monday was attended by several heads of state/government including the Uni Arab Emirate crown prince, the deputy prime minister of Qatar, Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Morocco prime minister Abbas El Fassi, Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Badawi, Yaman’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh and Somali president Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.
The theme of the meeting that would last for three days until March 3 was “Food and Energy Resilience, Curbing the Impact of Global Financial Crisis.”
The WIEF was first launched in 2005 by among others Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Malaysian Prime Minister Badawi and Pakistanie Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz as a means for dialogue for business cooperation between Moslem and non-Moslem businessmen to promote communications to solve economic problems.
Besides expressing their committment to advancing the WIEF, Dino said, the two leaders also discussed the annual Indonesia-Malaysia consultation meeting plan in the middle of this month.
“The planned meeting will discuss various aspects of bilateral relations between the two countries. It would also hear a report from the Eminent Persons’ Group set up by the two leaders,” he said. Dino said President Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Badawi also discussed the Asean summit that was just concluded in Hua Hin, Thailand.
The two leaders hoped the Chiangmai Initiative worth US$120 billioncould immediately be realized after the Asean + 3 financial minisers’ meeting in Bangkok in April. President Yudhoyono received Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi of Morocco who also attended the WIEF, before meeting with prime minister Badawi.
Dino said President Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Abbas agreed to increase the volume of trade between the two countries which now still stood at US$90 million in value although its growth rate reached 25 percent.
He said Indonesia and Morocco also agreed to make the relations between the two countries closer in view of the fact that the two countries had moderate Moslem population who wished to implement democracy. ( ant )
Indonesia and South Korea agreed on Friday to enhance cooperation in the fields of education, research and technology, forestry and defense.
Memorandums of undertanding (MoU) to that effect were signed by relevant ministers of the two countries at the presidential palace here, witnessed by President SusiloBambang Yudhoyono and his visiting South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak.
The MoU on education cooperation was signed by Indonesian Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo and South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan, the MoU on research and technology by Indonesian Research and Technology Minister Kusmayanto Kadiman and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Youn-ho.
The MoU on forestry cooperation was signed by Indonesian Forestry Minister MS Kaban and his South Korean counterpart, Chung Kwang-soo, and a Letter of Intent (LoI) on defense cooperation by Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono and South Korea’s Commissioner of Defense Acquisition Program Administration Byun Moo-keun.
In a joint press conference with President Lee, President Yudhoyono expressed hope that relations between the two countries would increase following the signing of the four agreements. “Relations between the two nations have been growing well since they signed a strategic partnership agreement,” he said.
Two-way trade between Indonesia and South Korea in 2008 more than doubled to US$20 billion from a year earlier, he said. President Lee meanwhile underscored the need for the two countries to enhance cooperation despite the current global financial crisis. “Despite the obstacle, I am convinced that relations between the two countries will continue to increase,” he said.
At their meeting, the two leaders also discussed the two countries’ roles in G-20 summit scheduled for early in April. “We discussed the two countries’ role in G-20 particularly in dealing with the current economic crisis. Indonesia and South Korea also have agreed to develop ASEAN plus three in addition to the Chiang May Initiative,” he said. President Lee arrived here on Friday for a three-day visit.
On Saturday he will visit the Kalibata National Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta and later in the day meet with House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Agung Laksono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla. ( ant )
