Palestinian Ambassadors follow diplomatic training in Indonesia

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - An international diplomacy training which had been going on for almost a month now in Jakarta and in some other cities in Indonesia were followed by 23 foreign diplomats, including four Palestinians who are ambassadors to Bulgaria, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

Deputy Foreign Minister Triyono Wibowo when opening the training in Jakarta Thursday said that the training for the Palestinian officials was one form of Indonesia`s high commitment to help the struggle of the Palestinian people.

The diplomatic training opened at the foreign ministry on Thursday was a Foreign Service Staff School held from March 30 to April 24, 2009.

The third Sesparlu was attended by 13 senior diplomats from Indonesia and nine diplomats from China, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and Laos as well as four Palestinian ambassadors.

Aerospace added to defense expo

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia's biennial defense expo is expanding to include an aerospace expo showcasing the best of domestic defense and space technologies as well as renowned names from abroad.

Director General for Defense Facilities at the Defense Ministry Rear Marshal Eris Herryanto said Tuesday the exhibition would differ from past events held in 2004 and 2006 because of the added aerospace aspect.

"The reason behind the exhibition is to improve science and technological developments in weaponry and aerospace industries," he told reporters.

"The events also aim to show the world our developments in national defense industries."

This year the event will be held at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base instead of the Kemayoran Fairgrounds, the site of the first and second shows.

Hosted by the Defense Ministry, the Indo Defense and Aerospace (IDA) 2008 Expo and Forum will play host to 400 participants from 37 countries from Nov. 19-22.

There will be 11 international pavilions belonging to Bulgaria, Germany, Great Britain, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and the United States.

Eris said the exhibitions would hopefully lead towards the independence of the national defense industry, broaden the insight of defense and aerospace industries and cater to users of weaponry systems and aerospace technologies.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to officially open the events although Eris said he is still waiting for confirmation.

Indonesia will be showcasing mainly its state-owned strategic industries such as firearms and ammunition manufacturer PT Pindad, shipyard PT PAL, aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia, train manufacturer PT INKA and steel manufacturer PT Krakatau Steel.

PT Pindad will showcase its newest 6x6 armored personnel carrier (APC) while PT Dirgantara Indonesia will display its CN-235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

"The APC will give a demonstration of its capabilities on the opening day," said Eris.

International defense companies attending include Kazan Helicopter, Sukhoi, EADS, PZL Swidnik, Korea Aerospace Industries, Rheinmetall and Raytheon.

Eris said there would also be a seminar called "Defense Technology Capabilities and Improving the Role of National Air Transportation", which is being organized by the Air Power Club Indonesia (APCI).

Meanwhile, Herman Wiryadipoera, from event organizer PT Napindo Media Ashatama, said the first three days would be a trade exhibition for professionals only but the public could attend on the fourth day, Saturday.

"The general public will have to pay Rp 100,000 (US$8.81) and provide copies of their identity cards to visit the venue," he said. (pmf)

TEI falls short of expectations

Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta 

The recent 23rd Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) recorded a total of US$214.17 million in transactions, a slight rise from the $208.26 million recorded at last year's event. 

But despite the increase, the figure was less than projected. 

"The bad news is we missed the target of $220 million because global demand is declining," Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said. 

"But the good news is we were still able to record growth." 

Mari said a slowdown in Indonesia's "traditional markets", such as the United States and members of the European Union, partly contributed to the shortfall. 

For example, the value of transactions with Spanish businesses sharply declined from $23.91 million in 2007 to $2.07 million. 

Orders from Australian businesses also were down dramatically, from $13.71 million to $2.24 million. 

Orders from Japanese businesses fell from $11.26 million last year to $6.49 million, while transactions from Taiwan dropped from $9.88 million to $5.2 million. 

Despite missing the target, the TEI did manage to attract buyers from new markets, Mari said. 

Orders from new players accounted for $148 million of the total, including orders from Egypt ($28.47 million), Bulgaria ($12.25 million), Saudi Arabia ($6.26 million), Sudan ($4.65 million), Nigeria ($4.33 million), Pakistan ($4.32 million), Ukraine ($4.28 million), South Africa ($3.16 million) and Brazil ($3.14 million). 

"We'll now focus on emerging markets, like China and India, as well as on new markets, such as Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Kazakhtan and Russia," Mari said. 

Indonesia is also trying to benefit from an expected drop in China's share of the international market as it is "losing its competitiveness in the manufacturing sector with the strengthening of the yuan against the U.S. dollar".

Bulgaria and Indonesia to Promote Each Other's Tourism

Novinite.com, 22 March 2008, Saturday

The visit of Indonesia's Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wachik in Bulgaria continued Saturday with discussions about how the two countries can promote the tourism contacts between one another.

Minister Wachik said he was going to do everything possible to develop the relations between Bulgaria and Indonesia in the fields of culture and tourism. He stated that the 220 million Indonesian traveled a lot, and that it would a huge success for Bulgaria if it managed to attract at least a part of them.

The Head of Bulgaria's State Agency for Tourism Aneliya Krushkova said in turn she was surprised by that fact that 2 800 Indonesian citizens visited Bulgaria in 2007, the press service of the Agency reported.

Indonesia is visited by 5 million tourists each year, which is just as many as Bulgaria, but Indonesia receives about USD 5 B from tourism, or 9% of its GDP, whereas Bulgaria gets only USD 2,3 B

Saturday evening Minister Wachik is going to present the "Visit Indonesia 2008" program in the National Archaeological Museum attempting to attract as many Bulgarian tour operators and tourist agents as possible. Aneliya Krushkova said this would be an act of promoting the Indonesian tourism in Bulgaria.