Day: July 14, 2023

Jakarta Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi encouraged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Canada to strengthen cooperation in food security at the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference with Canada here on Thursday (July 13).”As a global food powerhouse, Canada can play a crucial role as a reliable partner for ASEAN’s food security by substantiating trade on quality agricultural and agrifood commodities,” Marsudi noted, as cited from the statement transcript of the meeting.

The minister assessed that cooperation is essential because currently, the world is confronted by food insecurity that is caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, among others.

In addition, ASEAN countries are confronted by the El Nino threat that can affect food crop harvests and disrupt the global food supply chain.

Hence, Marsudi said Indonesia is hoping that the joint commitment to strengthen regional food security preparedness can be reflected in a joint statement during the ASEAN-Canada Summit, scheduled for September.

Marsudi noted that the ASEAN and Canada could also collaborate in agricultural technology, one of which is through the Scholarship and Educational Exchange Development (SEED).

Furthermore, regarding cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, Canada is expected to contribute to increasing women’s and business groups’ participation in regional peace and development.

The ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) provides space for women and businesses in regional peace and development, particularly through implementing the Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security and the Empowering Women for Sustainable Peace project.

“We also invite Canada to take part in the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum, a public-private dialogue forum to produce concrete cooperation,” she remarked.

The strengthening of economic cooperation, including through the conclusion of the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement, was also discussed at Thursday’s meeting.

SEAN also encourages cooperation for strengthening human resources through the provision of scholarships. The other areas of cooperation that were also raised are regional connectivity, digital economy, green economy, smart city, and maritime security.

The ASEAN foreign ministers lauded Canada’s support for ASEAN’s centrality and leadership in the region.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Melanie Joy, stated that Canada is keen to become a reliable partner for ASEAN. To this end, the country has readied US$2 billion for various projects in ASEAN.

The meeting approved the Draft Joint Statement of the ASEAN-Canada Strategic Partnership to be approved at the upcoming ASEAN-Canada Summit.

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta The ASEAN urged the UK to approve the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Treaty in order to keep the region away from nuclear weapons.t the ASEAN Foreign Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC) with UK Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, on Thursday (July 13), Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific that has lasted for over half a century.

“The inclusive regional architecture is built on collaboration and international laws and principles, including the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) and the Bali Principles. I hope the UK can uphold those principles too,” Marsudi remarked.

The ASEAN PMC with the UK on Thursday, part of the 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting (AMM) during the 2023 Indonesian Chairmanship, reaffirmed ASEAN and the UK’s commitment to enhance their relations and effectively implement the ASEAN-UK Plan of Action for 2022-2026.

The meeting also exchanged views on regional and international issues.

SEAN’s step to accept the UK as the bloc’s Dialogue Partner two years ago shows its commitment to partnering with all countries, she emphasized.

“However, these partners must share the same view with ASEAN in contributing to peace, stability, and prosperity in the region,” she remarked.

The SEANWFZ Treaty, signed in 1995 by all ASEAN countries, stipulates that its signatories cannot “develop, manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess, or have control over nuclear weapons,” “station or transport nuclear weapons by any means,” or “test or use nuclear weapons.”

The SEANWFZ Treaty is also open to be signed by the five nuclear-weapon states: China, Russia, the US, the UK, and France.

However, 28 years after the SEANWFZ Treaty signing, only China has expressed readiness to sign the protocol, although until now, there have been no follow-ups on it.

Other countries expressed their objection to some parts of the SEANWFZ Treaty.

Marsudi stated that the ASEAN will review the treaty again, so all nuclear-weapon states want to sign and adopt the SEANWFZ Protocol.

“We will deploy our negotiators to examine the (treaty body) again because there are some objections to some of the sentences,” Marsudi stated on Tuesday (July 11).

Source: Antara News Agency

Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo has said that the Gunungkidul district government in Yogyakarta Province does not need to declare the anthrax infections in the region as an extraordinary event (KLB)/outbreak.”However, the handling must be intensified,” he stressed in Gunungkidul on Thursday.

He said he was surprised to learn about the occurrence of anthrax cases in Gunungkiduleven though anthrax could appear every year and does not completely disappear.

nthrax spores can survive for 50 years, he noted.

He said that the number of animal anthrax cases in Indonesia is not as bad compared to the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) and Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) outbreaks in livestock. However, anthrax can infect humans and cause death.

Based on the Agriculture Ministry’s investigation of recent cases, anthrax has caused human deaths only in Gunungkidul, Limpo informed.

To handle the anthrax cases, his ministry will implement three agendas that will need to be carried out in all regions.

First, for every anthrax case finding, regional governments will need to conduct an emergency management agenda, including prohibiting physical contact with animals contaminated with anthrax. Instead, the animals must be burned and buried immediately.

The second agenda is carrying out isolation within a 200-meter radius area around the location where the case was detected.

The third agenda is that the area must also be guarded by the animal health center (puskeswan) with a veterinarian as well.

“Unfortunately, in Gunungkidul, animals contaminated with anthrax virus were butchered and the meat was consumed by the community,” Limpo said.

He emphasized that the anthrax case in Gunungkidul was a warning to all parties and one that should not be ignored.

Therefore, he saidthe public must be educated regarding handling anthrax cases in animals.

nimals infected with anthrax show clinical symptoms such as fever and foaming at the mouth. If the condition gets worse, the animals can die within one to two days, he informed.

During his visit, he also handed over anthrax vaccine assistance in the form of 60,817 doses and other supports worth Rp631,613,132.

bout 11,017 doses of the vaccine will be distributed to Gunungkidul district and 12,667 doses to Yogyakarta province. The remaining 37,133 doses will be reserved for the Yogyakarta Veterinary Center.

unungkidulDistrict Head Sunaryanta claimed that the anthrax cases in the region are currently under control.

He saidone resident died from anthrax, but the publication of the incident could be considered excessive.

He also asked the public to remain vigilant and stay calm.

“We hope that our residents will be optimistic to overcome this problem,” he said.

Source: Antara News Agency