Indonesia
Bangladesh, Indonesia need to work together as partners: BGMEA chief
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan has said Bangladesh and Indonesia need to view each other as comprehensive friends and partners and expand collaboration to prosper together.
During his meeting with Indonesian Ambassador to Bangladesh Heru Hartanto Subolo on Sunday, the BGMEA chief said collaborative engagement is needed to identify the opportunities and ways to realise them.
BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Director Barrister Vidiya Amrit Khan and Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Shams Mahmud were also present at the courtesy meeting held at the embassy.
They discussed various trade-related issues with special emphasis on possible avenues of collaboration between Bangladesh and Indonesia to unlock mutual trade potential.
They also talked about how both countries can complement each other for the development of the RMG and textile industry.
Bangladesh’s RMG sector has attached due importance to diversification of products, especially high-value non-cotton apparels and technical textiles, according to the BGMEA.
Read: BGMEA chief appraises US govt officials about the significant strides made by RMG industry
While the Indonesian textile sector can meet the demand of Bangladesh’s RMG sector for man-made fibre, Indonesia can import ready-made garments from Bangladesh, said the BGMEA chief.
It would create a win-win situation for both countries, he added.
The BGMEA President invited the Ambassador to the “Made in Bangladesh Week” and also Indonesian RMG and textile businessmen to participate in the weeklong event.
BGMEA in partnership with Bangladesh Apparel Exchange will organise the mega event in Dhaka on November 12-18 this year to promote the apparel industry of Bangladesh globally and showcase its strengths.
Indonesia hikes fuel prices by 30%, cuts energy subsidies
Fuel prices increased by about 30% across Indonesia on Saturday after the government reduced some of the costly subsidies that have kept inflation in Southeast Asia’s largest economy among the world’s lowest.
Indonesians have been fretting for weeks about a looming increase in the price of subsidized Pertalite RON-90 gasoline sold by Pertamina, the state-owned oil and gas company. Long lines of motorbikes and cars snaked around gas stations as motorists waited for hours to fill up their tanks with cheaper gas before the increase took effect on Saturday.
The hike — the first in eight years — raised the price of gasoline from about 51 cents to 67 cents per liter and diesel fuel from 35 cents to 46 cents.
President Joko Widodo said the decision to increase the fuel prices was his last option as the country’s energy subsidy had tripled this year to 502 trillion rupiah ($34 billion) from its original budget, triggered by rising global prices of oil and gas.
“The government has tried its best as I really want fuel prices to remain affordable,” Widodo told a televised address announcing the fuel hike. “The government has to make decisions in difficult situations.”
He said that the flow of subsidies to the public was not well targeted — about 70% of subsidies were benefiting middle and upper classes — and the government decided instead to increase social assistance.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said authorities were monitoring the impact on inflation and economic growth of the rise in fuel price.
Inflation has been relatively modest with the shock being mostly absorbed through a budget bolstered by energy subsidies. Inflation hit 4.6% in August as Bank Indonesia, the central bank, has said it would reassess the inflation outlook in response to the government fuel price policy.
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Indrawati said in a separate news conference that the government would provide 150,000 rupiah ($10) cash handouts to cushion the impact of the fuel price increase on 20.6 million poor families until the year end. The total cost of the handouts will be 12.4 trillion rupiah, which will be reallocated from the budget for energy subsidies.
She said the government will also spend 9.6 trillion rupiah ($644 million) on salary assistance to about 16 million low paid workers, and 2.17 trillion rupiah ($145 million) will go to subsidizing transport costs, particularly for motorcycle taxi drivers and fishermen.
“We hope this can reduce pressure of rising prices and help reduce poverty,” Indrawati said.
The government has subsidized fuel for decades in Indonesia, the vast archipelago nation of more than 270 million people.
Fuel prices are a politically sensitive issue that could trigger other price hikes and risk student protests. In 1998, an increase in prices sparked riots that helped topple longtime dictator Suharto.
Indonesia seeks stronger cooperation with Bangladesh
The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Dhaka on Wednesday celebrated the 77th Independence Day of the Republic of Indonesia.
The event started with a flag hoisting ceremony in the morning at the premises of the Embassy.
There were more than 150 participants including diplomats and staff of the Embassy, Indonesian citizens and diaspora living around Dhaka.
The ceremony was held with limited participants as part of strict health protocols regarding Covid-19.
US, Indonesia, Australia hold drills amid China concerns
Soldiers from the U.S., Indonesia and Australia joined a live-fire drill on Friday, part of annual joint combat exercises on Sumatra island amid growing Chinese maritime activity in the Indo-Pacific region.
A total of more than 5,000 personnel from the U.S., Indonesia, Australia, Japan and Singapore are participating in this year’s exercises, making them the largest since they began in 2009.
The expanded drills are seen by China as a threat. Chinese state media have accused the U.S. of building an Indo-Pacific alliance similar to NATO to limit China’s growing military and diplomatic influence in the region.
The United Kingdom, Canada, France, India, Malaysia, South Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and East Timor also sent observers to the exercises, which began early this month.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific commander, Adm. John C. Aquilino Aquilino, said the 14 nations involved in the training are signaling their stronger ties as China grows increasingly assertive in claiming virtually the entire South China Sea and holds exercises threatening self-ruled Taiwan.
“The destabilizing actions by the People’s Republic of China as it applied to the threatening activities and actions against Taiwan is exactly what we are trying to avoid,” he said at a joint news conference with Indonesian military chief Gen. Andika Perkasa in Baturaja, a coastal town in South Sumatra province.
“We’ll continue to help deliver a free and open Indo-Pacific and be ready when we need to respond to any contingency,” Aquilino said.
Read: Taiwan says China military drills appear to simulate attack
Indonesia and China enjoy generally positive ties, but Jakarta has expressed concern about what it sees as Chinese encroachment in its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.
Despite its official position as a non-claimant state in the contested South China Sea, Indonesia has been “dragged along” in the territorial dispute since 2010 after China claimed part of Indonesia's exclusive economic zone in the northern region of the Natuna Islands, said Connie Rahakundini Bakrie, a security analyst at the University of Indonesia.
The edge of the exclusive economic zone overlaps with Beijing’s unilaterally declared “nine-dash line” demarking its claims in the South China Sea.
Increased activities by Chinese coast guard vessels and fishing boats in the area have unnerved Jakarta, prompting Indonesia's navy to conduct a large drill in July 2020 in waters around Natuna at the southern portion of the South China Sea.
Indonesia sees the current exercises with the U.S. as a deterrent in defense of the Natuna Islands, while for Washington, the drills are part of efforts to forge a united front against China’s military buildup in the South China Sea, Bakrie said.
"Indonesia wants to send the message that it is fully prepared for any high-intensity conflict in the South China Sea area,” she said.
The joint combat exercises end Sunday.
First coal shipment for Rampal power plant arrives from Indonesia
The first shipment of fuel for the coal-powered Rampal Power Plant in Bagerhat has arrived from Indonesia, paving the way for electricity production from October, officials said on Friday.
"Bangladesh flag-bearer 'MV Akij Heritage' docked at Chittagong port on July 31, carrying 54,650 metric tonnes (MT) of coal imported from Indonesia," said Anwarul Azim, deputy general manager of Rampal Power Plant.
From the port, 18,650 metric tonnes were ferried to the terminal of the power plant on Thursday afternoon on three lighter vessels, he said.
“From now on, coal will be supplied to the plant on a regular basis as it will be operated experimentally from August to September. After that, Rampal Power Plant will go into official power production from October," said DGM Anwarul.
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Md Khanadakar Riazul Haque, manager of Toggy Shipping that owns 'MV Akij Heritage', said, "The ship sailed from Indonesia’s Tanjung port on July 20 and after unloading 18,650 MT of coal at Chittagong port, it headed for Mongla port with the remaining 36,000 MT. It will reach Harbouria-11 buoy of Mongla port by Friday evening."
According to Rampal Power Plant authorities, Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL), a Indian state-owned company, is responsible for the construction of the main infrastructure of the plant.
Work on the project began in 2010 with acquisition of land, and official construction started in 2012.
Being built at an estimated cost of Tk 16 thousand crore, the plant aims to produce a total of 1,320 MW of electricity in its two units (660 megawatts in each).
Rescuers search for 13 after boat sinks in Indonesian waters
Rescuers were searching on Tuesday for 13 passengers from a boat that sank in bad weather and high waves while traveling between Indonesian islands.
The boat, carrying 77 passengers and crew, sank Monday night in waters around Tokaka Island in North Maluku province in east-central Indonesia.
Sixty-four survivors have been found, said Fathur Rahman, head of the local search and rescue agency. They were able to swim to the coast to survive.
Rubber boats, speedboats and a local longboat were being used in the search for the others.
Read:19 women drowned as boat capsizes in Pakistan's Indus River: media
The KM Cahaya Arafah had left the seaport on Ternate Island on Monday morning and was heading to West Gane subdistrict in South Halmahera district.
Ferry and boat tragedies are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, where ferries are often used as transport and safety regulations can lapse.
In 2018, an overcrowded ferry with about 200 people on board sank in a deep volcanic crater lake in North Sumatra province, killing 167 people.
In one of the country’s worst recorded disasters, an overcrowded passenger ship sank in February 1999 with 332 people aboard. There were only 20 survivors.
Bangladesh for inclusion of apparel in PTA with Indonesia
Bangladesh has urged Indonesia to consider including apparel items in the preferential trade agreement (PTA) that they have agreed to sign to reduce the yawning bilateral trade gap.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen met Indonesian Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan in Jakarta Monday.
The ministers reviewed the trade relations between the two countries and agreed to expedite the conclusion of the bilateral PTA on the occasion of the 50 years of diplomatic relations between the countries.
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They agreed to further accelerate the exchange and interaction between the business communities of the countries.
Momen invited Zulkifli to visit Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time this year.
Gunmen kill 10 traders, hurt 2, in Indonesia's restive Papua
Gunmen believed to be separatist rebels killed 10 traders and wounded two others in an attack Saturday in Indonesia’s restive Papua province, police said.
Clashes have escalated in country's the easternmost province since last year, when rebels set fire to several schools and killed two teachers.
Attackers were believed to be members of the West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the Free Papua Organization, police said.
Read: Indonesian troops kill Papuan rebel commander
About 20 gunmen stormed the village of Nogolait in Nduga district while a grocer was preparing to open his wares. They shot him and seven other traders who were on an open freight truck, along with four passersby, said Papua police spokesman Ahmad Musthofa Kamal.
He said that most of the victims, all men, were immigrants from other Indonesian islands. Security forces found the bodies scattered in four separate areas.
Seven men were killed instantly while three others died at a nearby clinic, Kamal said. He said police and the military were searching for the attackers.
A spokesperson for the Free Papua Organization couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
On many occasions, rebel spokesman Sebby Sambom has said the group’s fighters had warned civilians to leave areas the rebels consider a “war zone.” He also urged workers to leave all Indonesian government projects, or they would be considered part of security forces.
Papua is a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia. Conflicts between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces have raged for years.
Indonesia’s government, which for decades had a policy of sending Javanese and other Indonesians to settle in Papua, is now trying to spur economic development to dampen the separatist movement.
In March, rebel gunmen killed eight technicians repairing a remote telecommunications tower. In December 2018, at least 31 construction workers and a soldier were killed in one of the worst attacks in the province.
Rohingya Repatriation: Dhaka seeks proactive role from Indonesia, ASEAN
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has urged Indonesia and the ASEAN to play a proactive role to facilitate an early repatriation of the displaced Rohingya people currently sheltered in Bangladesh on humanitarian grounds.
He reiterated that the problem was created by Myanmar and it has to be solved by Myanmar as well, and the only possible solution in this regard is the repatriation of the displaced people to their homeland, the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
Momen also sought Indonesia’s support in favour of Bangladesh’s candidacy as a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Also read: FM Momen’s new book focuses on Bangladesh’s successes, potential
The foreign minister discussed the issues when Ambassador of Indonesia to Bangladesh Heru Hartanto Subolo met him at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.
Momen recalled with gratitude the support of Indonesia for early recognition of independent Bangladesh in 1972.
He expressed happiness on the celebration of Golden Jubilee of Diplomatic ties with due festivity both in Bangladesh and Indonesia.
While appreciating the current volume of bilateral trade, Momen stressed on further expanding and accelerating the scope of trade and investment tapping into the unexplored potentials by the business communities of the two countries.
He specifically emphasized on having a better balance of bilateral trade by allowing more Bangladeshi products, including RMG, Pharmaceuticals, leather goods etc., into the Indonesian market and on concluding the Bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement which is under negotiations.
Momen suggested more frequent interactions among the business communities of the two countries, according to the MoFA.
The foreign minister explained briefly the remarkable socio-economic success of Bangladesh to the new Indonesian envoy.
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He specifically highlighted the success of digital integration and ICT development in Bangladesh under the vision of ‘Digital Bangladesh’ as steered by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Momen elaborated how a well-built ICT infrastructure helped Bangladesh in coping with the challenges of the pandemic and in administering one of the largest inoculation programs in the world.
Echoing the views of the foreign minister, the Indonesian Ambassador also emphasized on further strengthening economic relations between the two countries through various means including exchange of trade delegations, participating in trade expo etc.
Momen wished the Ambassador all success and assured him of all possible support during his tenure in Bangladesh.
FIFA friendly: Bangladesh play out goalless draw with Indonesia
Beset by injuries, Bangladesh played out a goalless draw against higher-ranked Indonesia in a FIFA international football friendly Wednesday.
Bangladesh's Topu Barman, Tareq Kazi, Saaduddin, Masuk Mia Zoni, Sumon Reza Matin Mia, Sohel Rana and Nabib Newaj Jibon missed the match at the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung city of West Java, Indonesia.
The No. 188-ranked men in red and green's goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico made some brilliant saves against the No. 159-ranked Indonesia.
Earlier, the teams locked horns six times where Indonesia beat Bangladesh four times – 4-0 in the Merdeka Cup in 1975, 2-1 in an international friendly in 1984, 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 1985 and 2-0 in another international friendly in 2008.
Bangladesh beat Indonesia 2-1 in a return leg match of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 1985.
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The remaining match between the two teams ended in a 1-1 draw in the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy in 1985.
Now, Bangladesh will travel to Malaysia to participate in the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifiers scheduled for May 8-14.
In the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, the men in red and green will play against a superior Bahrain on June 8, face Turkmenistan on June 11 and will meet hosts Malaysia on June 14.