Jakarta (ANTARA News) – Indonesia which is less known to world businesses compared to China and India took the opportunity to build relations and expand business networks in the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, last week.

"In term of investment, Davos is an extraordinary place for us to build networking because this forum is attended by more than 1,000 chief executive officers (CEO) from more than 1,000 companies," Trade Minister Mari Elka Pengestu said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono directly led the Indonesian delegation to the WEF. He attended the world economic forum on January 27-28 which was held from January 26, 2011.

"The presence of the president in the WEF when world economic players meet there will give Indonesia a chance to introduce various progresses it has made, including justice-based economic development," Teuku Faizasyah, the presidential special staff for international relations, said before the Indonesian delegation departed to the forum last week.

During the forum, the Indonesian president was promoting Indonesia`s economic and investment potentials. "The more information they get about Indonesia the higher their desires to cooperate and partner with us. After all they came from advanced countries which could provide a lot of benefit for us," President Yudhoyono said after concluding his visit in that country on Saturday.

Many world businesses told the president that they had already investment in Indonesia and would increase it further and expand their businesses in the country. Many others who have not made their investment expressed their desires to come to Indonesia.

"I positively welcome them if they will really increase benefit for us," the president said.

Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said the president and ministers accompanying him made use of every opportunity during the event to introduce Indonesia and its economic potentials to world`s economic players.

The president`s delegation included Chief Economic Minister Hatta Radjasa, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo, Trade Minister Mari Pangestu, Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa and Investment Board chief Gita Wirjawan.

On the sidelines of the forum, Mari said she had had a meeting with delegates of Google and Collective Brand, US-based shoe retailers who expressed desires to make investment in Indonesia.

These world class businesses have sought specific information about investment and various other fields such market potentials in Indonesia, a country of more than 230 million people.

She said that at present Indonesia had improved its investment climate through various regulations and transparent polices. This is proven by the increase in Indonesia`s rating from 54 to 44 in the Global Competitive Index issued by the WEF.

The trade minister said one sector which was still considered not yet improving was the infrastructure, yet this was a sector that could be seen as an opportunity for the business world.

Indonesia`s infrastructure development reaches Rp280 trillion annually. It is expected to reach Rp1,400 trillion in the 2010 – 2014 period. The government is only able to finance about 30 percent of the infrastructure business potentials.

For this purpose, Indonesia needs to continue promoting its investment potentials abroad. So far, Indonesia is still less known to business world compared with China and India.

"I met with international business community this morning. They said that Indonesia was not yet popularly known like India and China. The international business community said they had not yet been well-informed of Indonesia," President Yudhoyono told a press conference at Radisson Hotel, Zurich, Switzerland, and Saturday evening.

Now, the president said, the world business players have known that Indonesia`s economic growth is in the second rank in Asia after that of China and India, with increasingly bigger and strong economic capacity.

The president said that his presence in the WEF also carried a moral mission as the chair of ASEAN to explain to the world that Indonesia and the Southeast Asian region contributed to the economic development in Asia.

"As the ASEAN chair this year I have the moral responsibility to inform the world that Indonesia and ASEAN are in a region whose economy is thriving and deserves to partner with them," the president said.

Two-thirds of the world`s economic growth was fueled by the economies of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries. East Asia`s gross domestic product (GDP) is equal to Europe`s and the United States` 14.6 trillion US dollars.

According to Minister Mari E Pangestu, after attending the WEF`s 41st meeting, Indonesia will host the WEF on East Asia on June 12-13, 2011.

"We will take advantage of it because we will also host ASEAN Summit in October this year to put Indonesia in the role of leadership in ASEAN and East Asia region," Mari said.

She said that Indonesia will host the WEF East Asia so that they would come to Indonesia to see themselves the potentials of Indonesia. 

President Yudhoyono said the WEF East Asia in Jakarta will bring many benefits to Indonesia where it will expand Indonesia network with world businesses and offer a chance to increase investment.

"Thus, Indonesia will play a role in building global cooperation networks. This is what exists in my mind. I hope this could be developed further for the interest of the nation," the president said.
(A014/F001/A038)

source:  http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/67494/ri-attracts-world-business-players-in-davos

Jakarta (ANTARA News) – Indonesia is to host the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia on June 12-13, 2011, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said here on Thursday.

"We will take advantage of it because we will also host ASEAN Summit in October this year to put Indonesia in the role of leadership in ASEAN and East Asia region," Mari said.

She said it would be the first for Indonesia to host WEF after its neighbor countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Japan have ever been trusted to be the organizing committees.

"It will be the first time for us to host the World Economic Forum, and we hope Indonesia will take a leadership role and become the central power in Southeast Asia and East Asian region," Mari said.

The minister said global issues related to commodity prices volatility, food resilience, and energy resilience would be among the topics of discussion at the forum.

"The topics of discussion will be the same as that during WEF in Davos, and it will be a challenge for the government, business world, and private party to step up the industry, investment, and technology — especially agriculture and climate change technology to face with extreme climate change," Mari said.

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. 

Mari said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would lead Indonesia`s delegation in the 41st World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland next January 26-31,2011.

The minister said she would accompany President Yudhoyono to the forum with several senior officials such as Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Radjasa, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo, Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa, Investment Coordinating Board` (BKPM) chair Gita Wirjawan and leaders from national enterprises namely Bank Mandiri, BNI, Garuda Indonesia, Bhumi Resources, Indorama and Gunung Sewu.(*)

source:  http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/67191/indonesia-to-host-wef-2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) – The government through the Cooperatives and Small-Medium Scale Businesses Ministry, will soon set up centers of entrepreneurship at university campuses in Indonesia.

"The establishment of centers of entrepreneurship at campuses is a short-term strategy to produce new entrepreneurs in Indonesia, Agus Muharram, the ministry`s deputy for human resource development affairs, said here Monday.

Both short and long term strategies were needed to produce much more entrepreneurs in order to eradicate poverty, to reduce unemployment rate and improve the people`s welfare, he said.

"We must change the paradigm from job seekers to job makers, so that there will be more job opportunities," he said.

The centers of entrepreneurship at campuses could play a role in changing the paradigms, he said.

It would also have functions to educate and train students to become entrepreneurs and provide consultations for those who need advices on entrepreneurship. 

For the long term strategy, entrepreneurship is expected to be included in the university curricula nation-wide.

The number of entrepreneurs in Indonesia is expected to increase by at least 500,000 within the next four years.

Future entrepreneurship programs would be designed to produce creative, innovative and globally competitive entrepreneurs, Dr Handito Joewono, head of the coordinating economic ministry`s national coordinating team of creative entrepreneurship promotion, said here Monday.

"Within the next four years, we hope there will additional new 500,000 entrepreneurs in Indonesia," he said.

He also hoped that by 2025 the number would multiply to five million entrepreneurs.

Currently, the number of Indonesian entrepreneurs is around 0.24 percent of the country`s total population.

Sociologist David Mc Cleiland said, that to develop a country`s advanced economy, the number of entrepreneurs should be at least two percent or 4.8 million entrepreneurs for the total Indonesian population.

As comparison, the number of entrepreneurs in Singapore is 7.2 percent of its total population, Malaysia 2.1 percent, Thailand 4.1 percent, South Korea 4.0 percent, and the United States 11.5 percent.

It would take up to the year 2030 for Indonesia to have 4.8 million entrepreneurs or 2 percent of its current total population, he said.
(Uu.F001/HAJM/P003)

source:  http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/67534/govt-to-set-up-centers-of-entrepreneurship-at-campuses

Jambi, Sumatra (ANTARA News) – Kerinci district will send a team to Malaka, Malaysia, to participate in the 14th archipelago drum festival that will take place in April, a local official said, 

The festival is every year in Asian countries with populations of Malaysian stock on a totaing basis, Arlis Harun, head of Kerinci district`s youth, sports, tourism and culture office, said said here Wednesday.

"The archipelago drum festival will be participated in by a number of racially Malay countries and a number of provinces in Indonesia," Arlis said.

The Asian countries to participate in the archipelago drum festival in Malaka include Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Madagascar. 

A number of areas in Indonesia that belong to the Malay family such as West Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and all provinces in Sumatra will take part in the festival.

Kerinci district would send 25 drummers and dance teams who will perform two dances, namely the Sike and Italau.

Arlis said Kerinci district`s participation in the festival was for the first time representing Jambi province.

Kerinci district`s participation in the drum festival in Malaka was a matter of pride for the local administration as it would promote Kerinci as a tourist destination.

Kerinci district was chosen to represent Jambi province in the event because it frequently holds art performances through the Community Care Kerinci Lake Festival (FMPDK).

"As the FMPDK event is held every year in the presence of domestic and foreign guests, the archipelago drum festival organizer chose Kerinci as one the participants," Arlis added.

source:  http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/67370/kerinci-to-participate-in-archipelago-drum-festival-in-malaka

Jakarta (ANTARA News) – The Agriculture Ministry and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) work together in the development of superior rice seeds which is resistant to pest. 

Agriculture Minister Suswono said here Saturday that the cooperation in research between the Sukamandi Rice Crop Research Institute and IRRI based in Los Banos in the Philippines is an effort to anticipate the impact of the current climate change.

"The development of the new varieties is aimed at obtaining rice species which are able to survive by using limited water supplies, having high competitiveness against disease and tolerant to dryness and able to grow in rain-fed land," he said.

In addition, he said after signing a cooperation in research between Indonesia and IRRI, and also to obtain a rice species more efficient in absorbing fertilizers and producing rice with a high nutritional value and mineral and vitamin content.

One of the cooperation schemes he said currently being developed in a variety with a content of vitamin A, namely Golden Rice. Hopefully in the next two years Golden Rice could be produced, to support food resilience and increase food reserves in Indonesia, he said.

The minister said that actually the Indonesia`s cooperation with IRRI had already been carried out since 1972 particularly in rice research.

"Our researchers (at IRRI) have produced many superior species and the result had already been adopted by some other countries. IRRI also has a representative office in Bogor," he said.

He said the agricultural research cooperation covered genetic material in the form of rice plasm, combination of varieties tolerant to disease, dryness, inundation and salinity.

The cooperation also covered agronomical technology to support the P2BN program in the form of technological packages of integrated rice plant management. 

He said that of the 250 varieties released in Indonesia, 62 came from IRRI and the rest assembled by using IRRI genetic material and developed by superior Indonesian rice.

In the meantime, some 70-80 pct of the rice varieties raised by the farmers in Indonesia came from IRRI.

The varieties that had been released have a productivity of 10-15 pct higher than IR64 and tolerant to marginal land conditions and more resistant to plant pests and are of better quality.  (*)

source:  http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/67266/indonesia-irri-cooperate-in-developing-superior-seeds