COOPERATION IN DIGITAL ECONOMY HIGHLIGHTS CELEBRATION OF RISING 50 by Fardah

  Jakarta, Sept 9, 2017 (Antara) - Indonesia and Singapore have just celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two immediate neighboring countries in a special occasion themed "Trusted Partners, RISING Together" held in Singapore on Sept 7, 2017. 
      RISING is an amalgamation of "RI" for the Republic of Indonesia and "SING" for Singapore. The two nations established formal diplomatic ties on Sept 7, 1967.

           To mark the commemoration of the golden jubilee of the bilateral relations, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong planted a Sunda oak tree, dubbed the "RISING tree," in the Singapore Botanical Gardens' Learning Forest. The tree is native to both Singapore and Indonesia.

        Accompanied by their spouses, Jokowi and Lee also had morning walk and breakfast in the garden.

          They later left the botanical garden for the Singaporean Presidential Palace for a formal meeting, flanked by their respective delegations.  
    A commemorative stamp set featuring coral reefs from both countries was also launched. The stamps were unveiled at the Palace by Lee and Jokowi.

         During bilateral talks, the two leaders discussed  efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation in investment, tourism, energy, and digital economic during the meeting.

          Singapore is Indonesia's biggest investor and source of tourists, with the number of Singaporean visitors to the country reaching 1.5 million in 2015, while Singapore's investment in the year was recorded at US$5.9 billion.

              Singapore has agreed to increase its investment and tourist visits to Indonesia and closer cooperation in the framework of bilateral or regional within ASEAN and multilateral cooperation.

         "Singapore continues to double its investment, from $5.9 billion in 2015 to $9.2 billion in 2016," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi stated.

KENDAL INDUSTRIAL PARK SHOWCASES NEW MILESTONE OF INDONESIA, SINGAPORE RELATIONS by Fardah

Jakarta, Nov 18, 2016 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo of Indonesia and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long of Singapore officiated the opening of the Kendal Industrial Park in Central Java Province, on November 14, 2016.

         The 2,700 hectares industrial park, which is also known as Park by the Bay, is a joint development between Singapore's Sembcorp Development and Indonesia's industrial estate developer PT Jababeka, and has opened a year before the 50th anniversary celebrations of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Singapore.

         "Lee and I agree that the investment cooperation in Kendal Industrial Park marks a new milestone in our bilateral relationship, particularly in the investment sector," Jokowi said in a joint statement in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang after holding the First Indonesia-Singapore Leaders' Retreat.

         The project is a win-win outcome for both countries, the Singapore prime minister said in his opening remarks. "Our economies are closely intertwined. If Indonesia does well, Singapore will also do well. This is why Singapore wants Indonesia to succeed," he noted.

         Lee considered the large scale project a significant one as it will create up to 4,000 jobs in Kendal. In fact, about 100,000 jobs are expected to be created by 2021, when phase one of the project is complete, according to Sembcorp Development.

         The park's masterplan, which was unveiled at the ceremony, features industrial clusters such as a Fashion City, Food City, Furniture Hub and Building Materials Zone.

INDONESIA ACCEPTS FOREIGN ASSISTANCE TO EXTINGUISH FOREST FIRES By Fardah

   Jakarta, Oct 8, 2015 (Antara)- The inhabitants of Sumatra and Kalimantan, as well as the citizens of Malaysia and Singapore, who have been choked by the haze emanating from Indonesian forest and plantation fires, will hopefully get some respite soon as Indonesia has accepted offers by some countries to help put out the prolonged fires.

        The forest fires have resulted in millions of people, including those from Malaysia and Singapore, to become victims of the haze.  
   Besides Malaysia and Singapore, the Thai holiday resort island of Phuket has also been shrouded in the haze coming from Sumatra. As a result, Thailand's Foreign Minister invited Indonesia's ambassador for a meeting on Thursday to discuss the forest fires, the Bangkok Post reported.

        Thousands of personnel, including from the Indonesian military, have been deployed to extinguish the fires, but the efforts were not successful because the fires in peat land areas particularly, keep flaring up repeatedly.

PRESIDENT JOKOWI INVITES SINGAPOREAN BUSINESSMEN TO INVEST MORE IN INDONESIA by Fardah

    Jakarta, July 30, 2015 (Antara)- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) made his first state visit to Singapore on July 28-29, 2015 although he had visited the neighboring country on several occasions since he was installed as Indonesia's seventh president in October 2014.      
    The president's state visit to Singapore was aimed at advancing economic cooperation between the two countries.

         So far, Singapore has been one of Indonesia's chief partners in the fields of trade, investment and tourism.

         Besides hoping to strengthen the existing sound bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries, Jokowi also tried to convince Singaporean businessmen to invest more in Indonesia.

INDONESIA, SINGAPORE SET NEW MILESTONE IN BILATERAL TIES by Fardah

 Jakarta, Sept 4 , 2014(Antara) - As immediate neighbors, Indonesia and Singapore fully realize that it is crucial to agree on border lines that geographically separating them, to prevent unnecessary territorial claim in the future.

        Before his tenure ends on October 20, 2014, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono paid a three-day state visit to Singapore, from September 2 to 4, 2013, at the invitation of Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam.

NAMING OF INDONESIAN NAVAL SHIP CAUSES POLEMIC AS SINGAPORE PROTESTS by Fardah

     Jakarta, Feb 12, 2014 (Antara) - The naming of a Naval ship after Usman Haji Mohamed Ali and Harun Said, two Indonesian marines executed in Singapore during the "confrontation" era, by Indonesian Defense Forces, has prompted strong protests from Singapore.

         Usman Haji Mohamed Ali and Harun Said had bombed the city state's main shopping district that left three people dead. The attack was part of an effort by the then Indonesian President Sukarno to stage an armed confrontation against the newly formed federation of Malaysia, which included Singapore.