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Indonesia Today Vol. X no. 03 February 01, 2007 Индонезия Сегодня

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Regional/International Issues
Ri, brazil exploring cooperation in forestry
Indonesia, qatar to set up joint investment fund
President: ri stil concerned about situation in palestine, lebanon
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Regional/International Issues




  1. INDONESIA TAKES PART IN NORWAY'S GREATEST TOURISM BOURSE



New York - Indonesia is taking part in an Norwegian tourism bourse which is being held in Norge Varemesse town on January 11-14 in a bid to lure more foreign, notably Norwegian tourists to Indonesia, an Indonesian envoy said.

The Indonesian participation in the Norway's greatest tourism bourse called Reiselive 2007 was the first of such its kind, Ambassador Retno Marsudi told ANTARA here from Oslo on Saturday.

The Indonesian participation in the international tourism bourse would hopefully keep the country from being forgotten by Norwegian people, she said.

The Norwegian tourism bourse is being taken part in by about 1,000 participants from 170 countries.

India, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand are among Asian countries participating in the Reiselive 2007 event.

Retno said the four Asian countries always took part in the Norwegian tourism bourse.

Number of Norwegian tourist that visited Indonesia was recorded at 16,819 in 2005, increasing from 15,226 in 2004 and 15,010 in 2003, she said.

The number, however, was far lower compared to number of Norwegian tourist visiting other Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Malaysia which recorded millions of Norwegian tourists every year, she said.

      1. RI, BRAZIL EXPLORING COOPERATION IN FORESTRY



Jakarta - Indonesia is exploring the possibility of cooperation with Brazil in forestry, environment and trade of forest products, the Ministry of Forestry said in a press release here on Monday (Jan 15).

It said that Forestry Minister MS Kaban had held official meetings recently with three ministers from Brazil, a country believed to have made significant progress in the development of timber estates (HTI).

In a meeting with Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva, Kaban discussed the development of village community forests, environmental preservation and forest plantations and management.

Kaban also held a meeting with Deputy Brazilian Trade and Industry Minister in charge of Development, Industry and Overseas Trade Affairs, Ivan Ramalho.

On the occasion, Indonesia and Brazil agreed to cooperate in the development of the pulp and paper industry as the two states constituted the biggest forest producer countries.

"Indonesia hopes to become the fifth biggest player in the pulp and paper industry at the end of 2009," the press release said.

Indonesia currently ranked ninth in the industry.

Therefore, Indonesia invited Brazilian timber estate investors to invest in Indonesia.

Indonesia is currently active in raising funds for the development of timber estate and community forest projects.

Kaban also met with an expert staff of the Brazilian State Secretary for International Cooperation, Ambassador Raymundo Magno, who represented the Brazilian president.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed possible operation in the development of biofuel energy. Brazil has developed ethanol as an alternative energy.

Brazil's ethanol production has reached 15-17 billion kilo liters per annum, which represents 25 percent of its total need.

The two countries have a good opportunity to build their respective potentials for both of them are rich in ethanol sources such as oil palm, cassava, sugar cane and jatropha plants.

      1. INDONESIA, QATAR TO SET UP JOINT INVESTMENT FUND



Jakarta - Indonesia and Qatar are planning to set up a joint investment fund for equity sharing for which Indonesia will gain 15 percent of capital, while the remaining 85 percent will go to Qatar.

"This investment fund aims to support the building of infrastructure projects in Indonesia," Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said after a limited meeting at the vice presidential office here on Thursday (Jan 18).

According to her, the joint investment fund of Indonesia and Qatar had been one of the results of the president's visit to the Middle East some time ago.

The setting up of the joint investment fund is expected to net funds from the Middle Eastern countries in a bid to build infrastructure projects in Indonesia.

Under an agreement, she added, the government of Indonesia will get a 15 percent share, while Qatar the remaining 85 percent.

Asked about the total Indonesia has to pay, the minister said she could not yet mention the exact figure, but it may reach Rp15 trillion.

It is for that reason that the amount is still being calculated at her office. Earlier, the government confirmed that the infrastructure projects include the building of 1000 kms toll roads in Java, 1000 public apartment buildings and some airports, seaports and power plants.

      1. PRESIDENT: RI STIL CONCERNED ABOUT SITUATION IN PALESTINE, LEBANON



JAKARTA - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday (Jan 19) the Indonesian people and government are still concerned about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, hoping security conditions there will improve soon.

"Indonesia is concerned about security conditions in Palestine and Lebanon. Indonesia continues to expect the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state in the near future," the president said when opening a meeting of the International Forum for Islamist Parliamentarians (IFIP) here.

The head of state said the sending of Indonesian troops to join the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon reflected Indonesia's concern about the impact of Israeli aggression against the war-torn country.

In his speech at the three-day meeting attended by delegates from 28 countries, the president also touched on what he called "Islamophobia" among western countries.

"Islamphobia happens because some people still have a poor knowledge about Islam," he said referring to the publication of a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad in a number of European countries, something which is totally forbidden by Islam.

"To deal with the matter, dialogs and cooperation are needed," he said.

He further reminded the participants of the civilization of Muslims in the past through their discoveries or inventions in the fields of science, technology, health and culture. However, European nationa later took over the Muslims' role.

He said many Muslims in various countries currently were living in poverty or privation.

"Therefore, the challenge facing Muslims is how to improve their capacity so they will not be left behind in the era of globalization," he said.