Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was planning to meet his Chinese counterpart after Beijing called for urgent peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.
"I am planning to meet President Xi Jinping," he told reporters on Friday as Ukraine marked the first anniversary of Russia's invasion.
"This will be important for world security," he said.
Mr Zelenskyy did not say when or where he was planning to meet Mr Xi but expressed hope that China would support a "just peace" and Ukraine.
China on Friday called for urgent peace talks as it released a 12-point plan to end the war in Ukraine.
"It's an important signal that they are preparing to take part in this theme," Mr Zelenskyy said, suggesting that Beijing did not offer a concrete plan but some "thoughts".
"So far, I see this as a signal — I don't know what will happen later."
He also called on Beijing not to provide Moscow with arms, something China has already said it has no plans to do.
"I very much want to believe that China will not deliver weapons to Russia, and for me this is very important," Mr Zelenskyy said.
"This is point number one."
The Ukrainian leader also said that any plan that did not include a full Russian troop withdrawal would be unacceptable to Kyiv.
China has sought to position itself as a neutral party in the conflict, while maintaining close ties with strategic ally Russia.
Russia said it appreciated Beijing's efforts to settle the conflict but insisted that any solution should recognise Kremlin control over four Ukrainian regions.
China's proposal was met by scepticism from Ukraine's allies.
Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said Beijing "doesn't have much credibility because they have not been able to condemn the illegal invasion of Ukraine".
"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin is applauding it, so how could it be any good?" US President Joe Biden told ABC in an interview.
And German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that while "every constructive suggestion that brings us closer on the path to a just peace is highly welcome... whether global power China wants to play such a constructive role is still doubtful".
China announced on Saturday that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko would begin a four-day state visit on Tuesday.
Mr Lukashenko is a staunch ally of Mr Putin and has backed Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Xi and Mr Lukashenko announced an "all-weather" strategic partnership, when they met in the Uzbek city of Samarkand in September.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would visit China in early April, in part to seek Chinese help with ending the war in Ukraine.
"The fact that China engages in peace efforts is a good thing," Mr Macron told reporters at an agricultural fair in Paris on Saturday.
"China must help us put pressure on Russia so that it never uses chemical or nuclear weapons, [an effort] which China has already made, and that it stops its aggression as a precondition for talks," he said.
wonderlandcoconut.com is the official website of PT. WONDERLAND COCONUT, which is passionate about the export and import of coconut shell charcoal and its derivatives from Indonesia, in the form of activated carbon, hookah shisha, BBQ, tamarind wood charcoal, Sawdust charcoal and many more, you can see it on our product menu. factory and manufacturer owner Yahya Eko witoyo
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and the First Lady Ibu Iriana Jokowi watched F1 Waterboat Race or F1H20 at Muliaraja Napitupulu Port in Lake Toba, Balige regency, North Sumatra province, Sunday (26/02). The race in Lake Toba was the first series of the 2023 single-seater inshore circuit powerboat racing championship.
In the race, Bartek Marszalek from the Strømøy Racing F1H2O Team, who started the race from the pole position, won the first place. He managed to beat Sami Seliö from Sharjah Team who had to finish in second place.
Eric Stark from the Victory Team took the third place, while the defending champion Shaun Torrente from Abu Dhabi Team finished in 10th place.
With this result, Poland’s Bartek Marszalek amasses 20 points and is currently leading the table in the 2023 F1H2O World Championship. Meanwhile, Sami Seliö and Eric Stark take the second and third place with 15 and 12 points respectively.
After the race, President Jokowi handed over the trophy directly to the winners on the podium. The President, who watched the F1H2O for the first time, mentioned that the race is a very exciting international event.
“Yes, frankly speaking, this is a very exciting event, and this is also my first experience watching this F1 Powerboat,” said the President in his press statement after the event.
When asked about his favorite racer, the Head of State mentioned Marit Strømøy. The Norwegian racer is the only female racer in the F1H2O Championship.
“I noticed there was a female racer, Strømøy. She turns out to be a singer and also a good musician in her country,” he concluded.
wonderlandcoconut.com is the official website of PT. WONDERLAND COCONUT, which is passionate about the export and import of coconut shell charcoal and its derivatives from Indonesia, in the form of activated carbon, hookah shisha, BBQ, tamarind wood charcoal, Sawdust charcoal and many more, you can see it on our product menu. factory and manufacturer owner Yahya Eko witoyo
International events, such as the F1H2O/Powerboat boat race, will be able to spur economic growth as well
as build the region’s brand that organizes the event, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said.
“We hope that these kinds of international events can build brand in each region, such as F1 Powerboat on Lake Toba, MotoGP and Superbike in Mandalika, and Formula E in Jakarta. I think this will trigger the economy in the region. It is very good,” said the President after watching the F1H2O race event at Muliaraja Napitupulu Balige Port, Toba regency, North Sumatra province, Sunday (02/26).
He explained that the existence of international event in an area will also support local businesses such as hotels and restaurants.
“If it continues like this, later there will be more hotels, more restaurants, which in result will boost economic growth in super priority tourist areas,” he said.
According to him, the Government is also continuing to explore various sports-based international events to be held in Indonesia. Currently, the Government is preparing a team to be able to bring the Formula 1 racing title to Indonesia.
“We are embarking on all possibilities since that kind of events will bring strong brands like F1 Powerboat. This is no easy task. We also want to attract Formula 1 to enter Indonesia maybe next year. We are in assessment process, preparing the team,” he said while expressing hope that in the future there will be racers or teams from Indonesia who can participate in international races such as MotoGP, F1 or F1H2O.
For now, the President continued, the international racing event will have an impact on the super priority tourist destinations where it will be held.
“Later we will have teams to arrange similar events. This time the big events are available for super priority tourist destinations in our country,” he explained.
In the future, the President said that the Government will continue to strive to improve supporting infrastructure in areas such as the Lake Toba area. According to him, the lack of infrastructure and facilities can only be found out when there is a big event like F1H2O.
“We still have a lot to improve in this area of Lake Toba. The infrastructure, the airport terminal, even for the F1 Powerboat, there are still many flaws that we must fix. I thought everything takes time, everything takes a process, it couldn’t be done right away. Only during big event like this can we find out which facility we still lack of so that we can make improvement. Everything takes a process,”
wonderlandcoconut.com is the official website of PT. WONDERLAND COCONUT, which is passionate about the export and import of coconut shell charcoal and its derivatives from Indonesia, in the form of activated carbon, hookah shisha, BBQ, tamarind wood charcoal, Sawdust charcoal and many more, you can see it on our product menu. factory and manufacturer owner Yahya Eko witoyo
In a bid to support Indonesian football development, the Government has renewed commitment to establishing a football training center with eight football pitches in the New Capital of Nusantara (IKN).
“The construction of football pitch supervised by the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) will be carried out immediately and is expected to be completed in no more than one year,” the President said in his press statement, at zone 1B (core government area), the New Capital of Nusantara (IKN), North Penajam Paser regency, East Kalimantan province, Friday (02/24).
On that occasion, the Head of State also said that the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) will fund the construction as a form of international trust in the development of the IKN.
In this regard, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir, who also helms the PSSI, expressed appreciation for the plan initiated by the President to support Indonesian football.
“It is an extraordinary honor that Mr. President has decided to build a training center in midtown. We will complete the project immediately, Sir,” Erick said.
For the record, the training center’s location will be built in the planning sub-area (SWP) zone 1B in the IKN which is intended for education and government areas.
wonderlandcoconut.com is the official website of PT. WONDERLAND COCONUT, which is passionate about the export and import of coconut shell charcoal and its derivatives from Indonesia, in the form of activated carbon, hookah shisha, BBQ, tamarind wood charcoal, Sawdust charcoal and many more, you can see it on our product menu. factory and manufacturer owner Yahya Eko witoyo
The Governments of Indonesia and Democratic Republic of Timor Leste confirmed the commitment to intensify discussion about development of economic region at border areas and to push for a bilateral investment treaty.
The statement was made by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo during a joint press statement with the Prime Minister of Democratic Republic of Timor Leste Taur Matan Ruak after a bilateral meeting, at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java province, Monday (02/13).
“We are committed to intensify discussions on economic region development at border areas of East Nusa Tenggara province [Indonesia] and Oecusse municipality [Timor Leste]. In order to support economic cooperation particularly on the development of economic region at the borders, we have agreed to enter into discussions to establish a Bilateral Investment Treaty,” the President said.
Furthermore, the Head of State also underscored the importance of economic cooperation between the two countries.
“I look forward to the enhancement of trade relations between the two countries,” he said adding that he and his counterpart are also committed to improve connectivity by establishing a bus route connecting Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara province and Dili, the capital city of Timor-Leste.
In addition, President Jokowi also expressed his support for a lower sea transportation cost for the sake of business sector.
On border area, he told that both countries have agreed to immediately complete the construction of land border project this year, namely the Noel Besi-Citrana segment and Bijael Sunan-Oben segment.
“The completion of land border project is important before we can start discussions on maritime [border] and development of Oepoli Border Post,” he stated.
In that meeting, both leaders also discussed the enhancement of cooperation on development sector. President Jokowi said that since 2006 Indonesia and Timor Leste have been cooperating on 258 development projects involving thousands of participants from Timor Leste.
The President also reaffirmed his support to the development of human resources capacity. For the record, Indonesia has been providing scholarships for 489 students from Timor Leste in the past two years.
wonderlandcoconut.com is the official website of PT. WONDERLAND COCONUT, which is passionate about the export and import of coconut shell charcoal and its derivatives from Indonesia, in the form of activated carbon, hookah shisha, BBQ, tamarind wood charcoal, Sawdust charcoal and many more, you can see it on our product menu.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has ordered Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy to oversee humanitarian assistance from Indonesia for earthquake victims in Türkiye and Syria.
“The President has ordered me to oversee the humanitarian assistance from the Government of the Republic of Indonesia. The assistance has been delivered in two batches. The first batch of the assistance was delivered on February 11 and the second batch was delivered on February 13,” the Coordinating Minister said after a meeting with the President at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Monday (02/14).
The Coordinating Minister said that the assistance in the first batch was in the forms of equipment and personnel support, including medical doctors and medical personnel.
“In the first batch, we sent 62 personnel and supporting equipment. On February 13, we sent 181 personnel to provide our assistance, especially first aid support, Search and Rescue operation, and medical personnel, especially orthopedic surgeons,” Muhadjir said.
According to Muhadjir, for the second batch of the assistance, the Indonesian Government sent medical doctors and medical experts for treating infectious diseases, while in the next stage, the Government will send assistance in the forms of food and logistics.
“In the next batch, we will send assistance in the form of the logistics. We will send the assistance on February 20 with four cargo planes to send food and other necessities, including blankets, in line with the requests from Türkiye and the Syrian Government,” he said.
According to the Coordinating Minister, President Jokowi has also approved the Government’s assistance in the form of cash.
wonderlandcoconut.com is the official website of PT. WONDERLAND COCONUT, which is passionate about the export and import of coconut shell charcoal and its derivatives from Indonesia, in the form of activated carbon, hookah shisha, BBQ, tamarind wood charcoal, Sawdust charcoal and many more, you can see it on our product menu.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Wednesday (02/15) received a visit from President of the World Water Council Loic Fauchon and his delegates at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta.
During the meeting, President Jokowi highlighted six major issues that have to be discussed during the 10th World Water Forum in Bali next year.
“We, the World Water Council and the National Organizing Committee for the 10th World Water Forum in Bali were welcomed by Mr. President. He emphasized that six major issues including water requirements for human and the environment must be discussed during the World Water Forum next year,” Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono said in his statement after accompanying President Jokowi at the meeting.
According to the Minister, President Jokowi stated that the issue on water requirements for human and the environment is important to be addressed considering that the world is facing global water crisis.
“To that end, the President expressed his hope that the 10th World Water Forum next year will not only serve as conference, but also can come up with concrete recommendations in order to take definite actions,” the Minister added.
Basuki further said that the Kick-Off Meeting of the forum will be held on February 15-16, 2023 and will be attended by Board of Governors of the World Water Council consisting of 56 members and 1,400 participants.
“It is our hope that the Kick-Off Meeting can run well. It aims to mobilize, encourage all stakeholders in water sector to raise more awareness of problems on water resources management,” Basuki asserted.
Echoing the same sentiment, Loic Fauchon expressed his gratitude for the support from President Jokowi and all Indonesian stakeholders in water sector. He called on all parties to well prepare the next year’s forum.
“We have to prepare the World Water Forum in Bali next year. Together, during the coordination process, we have to try providing new solutions, new responses, that can increase water access for billions of people,” he remarked.
wonderlandcoconut.com is the official website of PT. WONDERLAND COCONUT, which is passionate about the export and import of coconut shell charcoal and its derivatives from Indonesia, in the form of activated carbon, hookah shisha, BBQ, tamarind wood charcoal, Sawdust charcoal and many more, you can see it on our product menu.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo says the world is still narrowly segregated into country blocs that need to be broken down.
That countries with coronavirus vaccines dished them out to friends and allies before making them available to others was case in point, he told the World Government Summit in Dubai in a pre-recorded address.
Mr Widodo, the leader of one of the world's most populous nations with 270 million people, said the pandemic had put the spotlight on how many nations had been left behind.
We must never see again a situation where vaccines, medical equipment and medicine are associated with political blocs
Joko Widodo
“It is imperative for multilateralism to be strengthened in order to save and build the world,” he said.
“The problem we face cannot be compartmentalised.
“However, the fact is that the world is currently divided into blocs. This is a significant challenge that must be addressed by the world today.
“Strong division of blocs among superpowers must be stopped immediately.”
He said humanitarian issues should not be addressed based on global political blocs.
The pandemic shed light on how divided the world was, with poor countries not having enough access to vaccines as compared to others.
“We must never see again a situation where vaccines, medical equipment and medicine are associated with political blocs,” said Mr Widodo.
“If we are not able to avoid political blocs, we should at least dismiss this factor when it comes to humanitarian issues.”
“Inequalities among countries have made it difficult to deal with our common challenges. Financial, technological, human resources and industrial inequality have proved to be an impediment to dealing with global crises.
“Inequalities in focus and energy supply and manufacturing must also be reduced.”
He also touched on how Covid-19 taught the world an extraordinary lesson.
“Three years ago, at the beginning of the pandemic, the world was powerless. Not only low and middle-income countries were struggling, but also high-income countries were left unprepared against the pandemic,” he said.
“We have learnt many lessons from the challenges of the past three years. First, there is no safe salvation; rather, there is shared safety. No one is truly safe until everyone is safe. Therefore, a shared safety agenda must be prioritised by all countries.”
wonderlandcoconut.com is the official website of PT. WONDERLAND COCONUT, which is passionate about the export and import of coconut shell charcoal and its derivatives from Indonesia, in the form of activated carbon, hookah shisha, BBQ, tamarind wood charcoal, Sawdust charcoal and many more, you can see it on our product menu.
Three unidentified flying “objects” that the Pentagon shot down over North America did not have any propulsion systems, were not being manoeuvred and were not alien in origin, the White House said on Monday.
The most recent downing happened on Sunday when an object flying at about 6,000 metres was shot down over Lake Huron, one of North America's five Great Lakes. Two other objects had been shot down over the preceding two days, one over Alaska and one in Canada.
“These objects were not being manoeuvred. They did not appear to have any self-propulsion,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
“So the likely hypothesis is that they were being moved by the prevailing winds.”
President Joe Biden ordered the vessels to be shot down after authorities determined they posed a risk to civilian air traffic. Searches for the wreckage, which landed across remote and frozen areas, are under way.
Until more is known about the craft, they all could be described as unidentified flying objects — UFOs — though officials moved to tamp down speculation about any otherworldly origins.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre drew laughter from reporters when she said: “There is no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns”.
But only a day earlier, a top general declined to rule out any extraterrestrial explanations.
Air Force Gen Glen VanHerck, head of North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) and Northern Command, said he would “let the intel community and the counter-intelligence community figure that out”.
“I haven't ruled out anything at this point,” he told reporters on Sunday.
Mr Kirby seemed to dismiss any notion that the as-yet-unidentified flying objects, which the US military has described as “octagonal” or “cylindrical”, are anything but terrestrial in nature.
“I don’t think the American people need to worry about aliens with respect to these craft. Period,” Mr Kirby said.
Unidentified aerial phenomena are a matter of serious Pentagon study and Mr Biden started receiving intelligence briefings on the issue in June 2021, Mr Kirby said.
Additionally, the president on Monday directed an interagency team to study the "broader policy implications" for the detection, analysis and disposition of "unidentified aerial objects" that pose either safety or security risks, Mr Kirby said.
The shoot-downs came less than a week after a Chinese balloon was destroyed over the coast of South Carolina after drifting across the US for several days. The US calls it a “spy balloon” that was being used to surveil sensitive military sites, but Beijing has claimed it was a weather-monitoring station.
Washington issued a sharp denial on Monday after Beijing accused it of sending several American high-altitude balloons over China.
The US rebuttal comes as tension flares between the two superpowers over the downed balloon.
“It's not uncommon as well for the United States to illegally enter the airspace of other countries,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
“Since last year, the US's high-altitude balloons have undergone more than 10 illegal flights into Chinese airspace without the approval of the relevant Chinese departments.”
The White House said that any claim the US government operates surveillance balloons over China is false.
“It is China that has a high-altitude surveillance balloon programme for intelligence collection that it has used to violate the sovereignty of the US and over 40 countries across five continents,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.
“This is the latest example of China scrambling to do damage control,” she added, noting that China, which claims the balloon that was shot down was a weather-monitoring platform, has failed to offer any “credible explanations” for intruding into other countries' airspace.
As the Chinese balloon drifted across the US for several days, it caused a political furore in the country, with Republicans accusing Mr Biden of being too slow to shoot it down. But the Pentagon said analysts were able to capture significant intelligence about the balloon as it traversed America.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled a planned trip to Beijing for what was supposed to have been a willingness to signal a rapprochement between the world's two largest economies.
Mr Biden acted much more quickly to order the shoot downs of three other objects that were subsequently spotted in US and Canadian airspace.
The Chinese “spy balloon” was shot down on February 4 by a US F-22 fighter. US Navy and Coastguard teams have recovered much of the wreckage of the vessel, which landed in waters about 14 metres deep off the eastern state of South Carolina.
Mr Kirby said the balloon was carrying a payload as long as three buses. Some of that has now been recovered from the Atlantic, though rough seas are hampering efforts.
At the weekend, Chinese state-affiliated media reported that an unidentified flying object had been spotted off the country's east coast and that the military was preparing to shoot it down.
Beijing on Monday declined to comment on that report, AFP reported.
wonderlandcoconut.com is the official website of PT. WONDERLAND COCONUT, which is passionate about the export and import of coconut shell charcoal and its derivatives from Indonesia, in the form of activated carbon, hookah shisha, BBQ, tamarind wood charcoal, Sawdust charcoal and many more, you can see it on our product menu.
Abu Dhabi’s clean energy company Masdar is teaming up with the International Finance Corporation to explore areas of collaboration to support climate action in emerging markets amid green transition efforts.
As part of the agreement, signed on the sidelines of the World Government Summit 2023, the two entities will explore the establishment of a green hydrogen platform and potential collaboration on bankability and structuring issues for African renewable energy projects.
The framework also covers the exploration of mechanisms to hasten the adoption of distributed photovoltaic systems, and the development of innovative new technology and business models in emerging markets in response to the climate crisis, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said on Tuesday.
“As the UAE prepares to host Cop28, we have placed a special emphasis on ensuring better, more efficient and more equitable access to climate finance,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Cop28 President-designate and chairman of Masdar.
He is also UAE's special envoy on climate change.
“The UAE is a trusted partner of many nations and actively supports the development of emerging nations,” he said.
“The International Finance Corporation has been a key partner for Masdar in a number of emerging markets, and this agreement carries forward the UAE’s commitment to equitable climate finance and inclusive sustainable development.”
Established by Mubadala in 2006, Masdar has taken a leadership role in the global clean energy sector and has also helped to drive the nation’s economic diversification and climate action agenda.
Masdar is active in more than 40 countries and has invested or committed to invest in projects worth more than $30 billion.
The company aims to grow its capacity to at least 100 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030.
“Masdar has a long history with the IFC, where we have worked together to fund clean energy projects from Jordan to Uzbekistan and other countries,” said Mohamed Al Ramahi, chief executive of Masdar.
“We are confident this agreement will serve as the foundation for further impactful collaborations that advance sustainable development in the countries and communities that need it most.”
Masdar has already completed a number of projects in African countries, including Egypt, Mauritania, the Seychelles and Morocco.
At the last month's Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2023, Masdar signed deals for projects with a combined generation capacity of 5 gigawatts across Angola, Uganda and Zambia, as part of Etihad 7, a UAE-led initiative that aims to raise public and private sector funds to invest in the development of Africa’s renewable energy sector.
Masdar is also developing new renewable energy projects in central Asia, as well as in Indonesia, and recently opened an office in Azerbaijan's capital Baku to strengthen the country’s renewable energy programme.
The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, financed and mobilised $7.7 billion in capital for climate-related initiatives in the first six months of 2022 to help public and private sector projects gain access to funding despite rising interest rates and amid a weakening economic outlook.
The multilateral lender invested $4.4 billion into development programmes and financing deals from its own account and mobilised $3.3 billion from the private sector in the previous financial year that ended on June 30, the IFC’s global head and director of climate business, Vivek Pathak, told The National last year.
Separately, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development signed a preliminary agreement with the IFC on Tuesday to support investments in emerging markets, including those related to the clean energy transition, climate mitigation and adaptation, the adoption of clean technology and food security.
Under the partnership, the two entities aim to co-invest up to Dh5.5 billion ($1.5 billion) in private sector-led projects, the ADFD said.
wonderlandcoconut.com is the official website of PT. WONDERLAND COCONUT, which is passionate about the export and import of coconut shell charcoal and its derivatives from Indonesia, in the form of activated carbon, hookah shisha, BBQ, tamarind wood charcoal, Sawdust charcoal and many more, you can see it on our product menu.
