Day: June 21, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee on Wednesday attended an official reception organized to promote South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo in its southeastern city of Busan.

The reception took place at a sports center in Issy-les-Moulineaux, just outside Paris, where a general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the international body in charge of overseeing the World Expo, was held this week.

The reception is held once by each candidate bidding to host the Expo before the 179 BIE member states cast their votes in November. The two other cities — Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Rome, Italy — held their own receptions on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

Yoon and Kim met with delegates from BIE member states during the reception and once again conveyed South Korea’s strong wish to host the Expo, according to the presidential office.

In his welcoming remarks, Yoon requested the delegates’ support for Busan as he stressed South Korea’s commitment to giving back to the international community.

More than 400 people attended the reception, including the delegates and members of the Paris diplomatic corps. South Korean business leaders, including Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, were also present to rally support, as was rapper Psy, who is best known for his viral hit “Gangnam Style.”

Psy was among the speakers who delivered a presentation in support of the Busan Expo at the BIE general assembly the previous day. Yoon also gave a speech in English.

The reception featured some of the best samples of Korean culture, including various Korean fusion dishes prepared by two-star Michelin restaurant Mingles, and a performance by South Korean b-boy group Jinjo Crew.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), on Wednesday, stated that the visa-free visit policy for 159 countries was revoked based on the outcomes of a benefit-based evaluation.”Evaluation is a certainty. In the past, we allow free entry, and now, we evaluate whether it benefits our country or do we need to open access for a country or not. There is indeed an evaluation,” he stated after monitoring basic food prices in Bogor District, West Java. President Jokowi said that not only Indonesia but also other countries would certainly evaluate their visa exemption policy. Every country has the right to continue or rescind the visa-free policy, such as what Indonesia is currently imposing, he noted. “Each country will certainly evaluate (the policy) to assess whether it is beneficial or not,” Jokowi remarked. fter the visa exemption policy is revoked for 159 countries, nationals from only 10 countries can enter Indonesia without a visitor visa. The 10 countries are all ASEAN countries comprising Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Kamboja, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. Foreign nationals, who enter under the visa exemption policy, are allowed to remain in Indonesia for up to 30 days, and their stay cannot be extended. They are required only to present a valid passport with a validity of at least six months and a return or onward journey ticket at an Indonesian immigration checkpoint to enter under the visa-free policy. Minister of Law and Human Rights Decision No. M.HH-GR.01.07 of 2023, signed on June 7, was the legal basis for suspension of the visa exemption policy for the 159 countries. The ministerial decision stated that the visa exemption policy has affected the lives of residents in Indonesia, as it is a factor that caused immigration violations, public order disruption, and transmission of diseases.

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) Head Police Commissioner General Rycko Amelza Dahniel reemphasized Indonesia’s staunch commitment to fighting terrorism while attending the 3rd United Nations’ Counter-Terrorism (UN CT) Week on Monday (June 19).”Indonesia is committed to continuing its fight against terrorism by strengthening global cooperation and undertaking various domestic terrorism prevention and management measures,” Dahniel noted in his statement in Jakarta on Wednesday. The BNPT head also affirmed that Indonesia will prioritize the values of humanity and maintain the spirit of collaboration with related stakeholders, including the government, civil society, private sectors, academics, and media, in the efforts to fight terrorism. Dahniel made the statement on the occasion of the UN CT Week that adopted the theme of “Addressing Terrorism through Reinvigorated Multilateralism and Institutional Cooperation” being held in New York, the United States, on June 19-23, 2023. In his speech, Dahniel stated that the agency opted for a soft approach in its efforts to conduct deradicalization. One of the concrete practices of the approach is by providing the children of the agency’s partners with schools with moderate outlook in the hopes of realizing a peaceful and harmonious life that will, in turn, help the nation to break the ideological roots of radicalism, he affirmed. Dahniel deemed it necessary to strive to divert the violent mindset and culture of terror perpetrators and their families by implementing entrepreneurial programs, with the objective of elevating their welfare after the conclusion of their punishment sentence. On the sidelines of the conference, the agency head was honored to join the unprecedented wreaths-placing activity at the United Nations’ headquarters in honor of the victims and survivors of terrorism. During his working visit to New York, Dahniel was accompanied by the agency’s Director of Regional and Multilateral Cooperation M. Zaim A. Nasution, and Indonesia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Hari Prabowo.

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Psychosocial assistance can assist in mental recovery of vulnerable children ailing from severe illnesses, such as those who fell victims to human trafficking, Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini stated.”These children have the future ahead of them. We want them to be able to return to lives as normal kids their age,” the minister noted in her official statement received here on Wednesday. The minister was on a visit to Pandeglang, Banten, on Tuesday, June 20, to witness the ministry, through the Bogor Galih Pakuan Center, offer psychosocial assistance to KS, aged 13, and NA, 14, who are victims of human trafficking. id was also given to 13-year-old Muhammad Arifin, who suffered from thalassemia, a blood disorder caused by the lack of protein chains forming hemoglobin. Psychosocial assistance is expected to improve children’s mental health conditions, as they are the vulnerable ones, she noted. “NA and KS will be brought to the Galih Pakuan Center for rehabilitation and given beneficial activities, whereas Arifin will have to constantly receive blood transfusion. We will assist with transportation for the accessibility for treatment at the hospital,” Rismaharini revealed. During the activity, the minister handed over aid in form of basic needs, nutrition, staple goods, and hygiene kit, totaling Rp15.2 million (US$1.015); Rp10 million (US$667) for meeting the needs of NA and KS; and Rp5 million (US$333) for NA’s family business aid. The minister also awarded three personnel of the Pandeglang Police Department and three personnel of the Pandeglang District Court for the measures they have taken to tackle the human trafficking case in the region. “We commend the Pandeglang Police Department and District Court that have responded to this human trafficking case well. This is about the children, the impacts are huge, because it does not only involve children, as there must be related things,” she explained. Head of Pandeglang District Irna Nurulita commended the ministry’s immediate measure in addressing the human trafficking case that involved children in her jurisdiction. “Thank you Mrs Social Affairs Minister, who has come and paid attention to our people. God willing, this will be our (focus) to be followed up and monitored consistently,” she remarked.

Source: Antara News Agency

Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) – The internet has become an integral part of everyone’s life, as almost all aspects of life currently require internet connectivity, so efforts to ensure internet access to all is an inevitable obligation for governments worldwide.The Indonesian government is committed to ensuring internet connectivity for all Indonesians, even those living in the most disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions. The launch of the Republic of Indonesia Satellite-1 (SATRIA-1) is the most recent strategy implemented by the government to bolster internet connectivity nationwide. The satellite was successfully launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC 40) in Florida, the United States, on Sunday (June 18) afternoon local time or Monday (June 19) morning Indonesia time. The reusable rocket Falcon 9, owned by American-based private spacecraft manufacturer and launcher company Space X, was utilized to launch the satellite. “The launch of SATRIA-1 is one of our efforts for equitable digital infrastructure development in public service centers throughout Indonesia,” President Joko Widodo stated in connection with the successful launch through his official Instagram account @jokowi on Monday. cknowledging that their region will be one of the priority service areas for the new internet satellite, residents in the Papua region enthusiastically welcomed the launch of SATRIA-1. Public viewing of the satellite launch is also being organized in various regions in Papua, including Jayapura City in Papua, Mimika District in Central Papua, and Manokwari City in West Papua. “We highly commended the Indonesian government, and we are thankful for the (satellite) launching,” Papua Province’s Communication and Informatics Office’s Information Technology Department Head, Thomas Sibi, stated. Better internet connectivity will benefit people in all their activities, including to access education, business, and healthcare. Better internet will also ensure faster implementation of government programs in Papua, he remarked. The official stated that of all cities and regions in Papua, Mamberamo Raya District still has no internet connection. Sibi noted that during a recent visit to Mamberamo Raya, the office received a complaint from health officers of bad internet connection in the region. They said that unstable internet impedes their work to make medical reports, which must be conducted online. He expressed confidence that SATRIA-1 would end the internet blackspot in Mamberamo Raya as well as in other regions in the Papuan region where the internet connection is lackluster. Concurring with Sibi, Jayapura acting mayor Frans Pekey stated that although the city is covered by internet, there are some regions, particularly in rural and frontier areas, that still have no internet connection. Hence, the SATRIA-1 satellite is expected to free those regions from the internet blackspot and allow them to join the internet realm. Pekey said he was also glad that Jayapura hosted the public viewing of the satellite launch attended by local officials, residents, and schoolchildren. The acting mayor expressed optimism that the SATRIA-1 satellite network installation will be developed soon in the region to ensure the entire system will be operational by January 2024. SATRIA-1 will occupy the 146 degrees east longitude orbit, hovering over Papua’s sky. The satellite is the Indonesian government’s first multi-functional satellite, with the largest capacity among Asian countries and the fifth-largest in the world. The internet satellite, which is expected to have an operational life of 15 years, will need four to five months to reach its designated orbit area after its launch. ccording to a 2023 study conducted by the Ministry of Communications and Informatics’ Telecommunication and Informatics Accessibility Agency (BAKTI), the SATRIA-1 satellite will have a capacity of 150 Gbps. It will provide equal internet access to 50 thousand public facilities in 3T regions, such as schools, hospitals, community health centers, village offices, sub-district offices, as well as security services. The internet speed at each public facility served is expected to reach 4 Mbps, increasing from the earlier 1 Mbps for each point calculated in 2018 during the start of the SATRIA-1 satellite project. In addition to SATRIA-1, the ministry will launch Hot Backup Satellite (HBS) in the third quarter of 2023. BAKTI’sHead of Telecommunication Service and Information Ade Dimiantiexplained that SATRIA-1 is expected to commence its service in early 2024, as the satellite is required to undergo several phases before it is operational. fter its release at the orbit point, SATRIA-1 will undergo the in-orbit testing phase by operator PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) and Thales Alenia Space (TAS) for three weeks. The satellite will then undergo the in-orbit acceptance review phase, expected to take place next December. Earth station segments and terminals for satellite internet access at public service points would also be prepared after the launch, the official stated. Dimianti expressed hope that SATRIA-1, which will provide internet connection for more Indonesians, can be utilized optimally. “Schoolchildren, health officers, and government officials can perform their tasks properly with the internet access provided by the satellite,” the division head remarked.

Source: Antara News Agency