Quarterly magazine on-line,Aug/Oct 2017
Indonesia Special Edition
Interview with Indonesia Ambassador in Italy, H.E. Mrs. Esti Andayani Interview with Indonesia Minister Counsellor in Italy, H.E. Mr. Aries Asriadi Zuccotti Mechanical Workshop an Italian excellence since 1981...
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Sommary 10 Exclusive interview to Indonesia Ambassador in Italy, H.E. Mrs. Esti Andayani 18 Interview with Indonesia Minister Counsellor in Italy, H.E. Mr. Aries Asriadi 22 Zuccotti Mechanical Workshop an Italian excellence since 1981...
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26 Saudia, welcome to your world! The Progress Time Event 31 Future scenarios in liver disease 33 Note on the Summary of interaction between Indonesia and the ICGEB as at July 2017 39 The Progress Time Events
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THE PROGRESS TIME Quarterly magazine on-line, Aug/Oct 2017 Aut.Trib. di Arezzo n. 4/13RS del23/07/2013 Aut. Modifiche dal Tribunale di Arezzo del 02/07/2015 EDITOR Mr. Ivan De Stefano EDITOR IN CHIEF Mrs. Barbara Ganetti GRAPHIC & WEB DESIGNER Mr. Lucio Tosi TRASLATOR Ms. Giulia Ruzzenenti QUESTO NUMERO È STATO FINITO DI IMPAGINARE IL 07/08/2017 CONTATTI editore@theprogresstime.com - redazione@theprogresstime.com
Editorial by Barbara Ganetti
Nowadays, Indonesia is a country of the socalled Next Eleven, that are the eleven emergent countries identified by Goldman Sachs with the highest growth potential; therefore, it is one of the players with a key role in the global economic development. Thanks to its political stability and to its economy, Indonesia is an important actor of the ASEAN area: it has a growth rate among the highest worldwide and a reformist attitude that has promoted the internal development and has attracted huge FDI (Foreign Direct Investment). Considered by many analysts the third main market of access to Asia, after the giants China and India, the Indonesian market is still to discover for our Italian companies. With a
population of about 250 million inhabitants (the 4th world’s most populous country), Indonesia does not hide its ambitions and it aims at important purposes. In this special issue, thanks to the cooperation of the Republic of Indonesia Embassy, we desire to inform our readers regarding the potentialities of this wonderful Asiatic country, shedding light on the big commercial opportunities for our Italian companies. We recommend the exclusive interview with H.E. Mrs. Esti Andayani, Ambassador of Indonesia in Italy, and the interview with H.E. Mr. Aries Asriadi, Economic Counsellor of Indonesia Embassy in Italy. Enjoy the read
Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia
INDONESIA, A COUNTRY CONSTANTLY GROWING By Ivan De Stefano
Indonesia Ambassador in Italy, H.E. Mrs. Esti Andayani
Nowadays, Indonesia is a country of the socalled Next Eleven, that are the eleven emergent countries identified by Goldman Sachs with the highest growth potential; therefore, Indonesia is one of the players with a key role in the global economic development. Thanks to its political stability and to its economy, Indonesia is an important actor of the ASEAN area: it has a growth rate among the highest worldwide and a reformist attitude that has promoted the internal development and has attracted huge FDI (Foreign Direct Investment). In this Indonesia special issue, for courtesy, we have interviewed, H.E. Mrs. Esti Andayani, Ambassador of Indonesia in Italy and H.E. Mr. Aries Asriadi, Economic Counsellor of Indonesia Embassy in Italy, with the purpose to know what are the new exchange possibilities between Indonesia and Italy. H.E., the friendly relationship with Italy began in 1949 and the exchange value between these two countries is 3,69 billion euros, for this reason today many Italian companies are always more present on the Indonesian market, which new reforms is your government developing, in order to promote investments? This month, Indonesia celebrates the 72nd Anniversary of its independence. We are thankful to Italy as it is among the first European countries that recognized Indonesian independence, proclaimed on 17 August 1945. A lot have been achieved since the independence as Indonesia is currently the 16th largest economy in the world. Political stability and prudent economic policy were keys to our national development; our open economy that attracts foreign investments has been a major contributor to national development in the last four decades.In this context, it is not a surprise that many Italian companies established in Indonesia, given the close relation between our two countries and the huge economic opportu-
nity available in Indonesia. As we are all aware, within the last five years, the global economy has been struggling to reach its best situation. This also impacted to Indonesia’s national economic development. Against this backdrop, the Government launched a series of economic reforms to simplify the process of conducting business and opening investments in Indonesia. We have cut numbers of procedures as well as shortened the time and reduced the number of licenses to start a business. The new policies also offer investors more incentives in terms of reduced taxes and better investments guarantee. Our Government has been actively taking efforts in maintaining political stability and stronger legal certainty. In line with this, President Joko Widodo is committed to forward
the reforming process and further strengthen Indonesian economy; the result of these processes is the improvement of the business environment, as reflected in the indicator of the Word Bank’s Easy of doing business 2016. The reform has shown a promising sign: in the first quarter of 2017, the Indonesian economy expanded 5.01 per cent year-on-year, on stronger than a 4.94 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016. This is slightly higher than the estimation from the market of 5.0 per cent expansion. Nowadays, the commercial exchange between Italy and Indonesia is mainly based on assets exportation (machines tools, general or special equipment), for 2017/2018, which Italian sectors could find an open market in Indonesia?
As I mentioned earlier, the unfavorable situation of recent global economy also brought some impact to Indonesia. However, the exchanges between the two countries has continued to flourish, since the inception of diplomatic relation in 1949: Italy is the third largest trading partner in the European Union for Indonesia, even if there is tendency of decreasing value in our bilateral trade. However, Italy and Indonesia still have ample room to develop their bilateral trades. The value of bilateral trades of about US$ 3 billion in 2016 is not a true reflection of trade potential between our two countries. Both Italy and Indonesia are members to G-20, the largest economies in the world. They also share the principle of open trade policy that promotes the international trade; this means there is neither specific restriction nor discrimination for any Italian product to enter Indonesia market. I believe this should be considered as a very beneficial opportunity for the Italian investors and business people. As a matter of fact, I honestly think that Italian companies should be more active to expand towards Indonesian market. The number of Italian companies operating in Indonesia are only about 82, meanwhile, as a comparison, there are 180 French companies and more than 300 companies from Germany.
In its 72 years for age, Indonesia currently is the home for more than 265 million people. The significantly growing of middle class of the population is a potential market for highquality product, and Italian companies surely can provide this. Furthermore, Italy should take advantage of Indonesia’s national development by being the prime partner in providing high-tech products, especially in the field of aerospace and civil aviation, software developments, machineries, defense industry and many others opportunities. In addition, Indonesia is the largest economy in the ASEAN single market of more than 625 million population; by investing and relocating their business to Indonesia, the Italians will gain competitive advantages from the domestic development while benefiting from the ASEAN single market. Therefore, I strongly advice the Italian private sector to expand their business in Indonesia. Besides the capital city Jakarta, cities as Bandung, Surabaya and Medan represent an ancient cultural and architectural heritage; which are the strategies concerning touristic promotion and the respect of cultural and natural patrimony that is Indonesia implementing?
As the largest archipelago in the world, Indonesia spans from east to west with the size equals the distance between London and Moscow. This provide home to a diversity of cultures like no other, and lovely landscapes around the country. The historical remnants are the result of long and rich historical background, its rich natural resources had attracted many nations and kingdoms prior to the birth of the nation. Considering these factors, we are confidence that Indonesia’s tourism can perform better. While the number of foreign visitors as always been improving each year Indonesia, more and more steps had been taken by the Government to improve the situation. The tourism sector is always fragile towards degradation where there are no maintenance and improvement kept. According to World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, which “measures the set of factor and policies and enable the sustainable development of the travel and tourism sector, and in turn, contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country”, Indonesia has gained the 50th rank in the 2015
and the 70th position in 2013. This shows that improvement efforts are showing the results. Based on this report, Indonesia has a competitive advantage in price competitiveness, rich biodiversity and the presence of several heritage sites. The tourism industry currently contributes for approximately four per cent of the total economy. As for now, we are targeting that by 2019 this number will be doubled. To achieve this, the Government of Indonesia will focus on improving supporting infrastructures accessibility as well as pushing forward the marketing campaigns abroad, especially in the main target countries. As part of the enhancement of tourism promotion activities, in 2016, the Government of Indonesia has set ten main destination in the country: Borobudur, Mandalika , Labuan Bajo, Bromo-TenggerSemero, The Thousand Islands, Lake Toba, Wakatobi Islands, Tanjung Lesung, Morotai Islands and Tanjung Kelayang. The purpose is to gain more awareness of the other beautiful places in Indonesia, besides Bali which is beauty has been well known. The amount of tourists from Italy also needs improvement; the leaders of the two countries have established several MoUs to further cooperation in cultural and tourism sector. In the other hand, positive developments of our bilateral relations also brought the agreement, granting visa-free access to Indonesia for Italian citizens for a maximum of stay of 30 days. As the collateral effect, we hope these steps will contribute to the growth of visitors from Italy. Besides promoting Indonesia intensively, which has been done through, for example, outdoor media such as decorating exterior and interior for public transportation in the Italian main cities, the Embassy of Indonesia in Rome also been actively participating in various art and cultural projects: from Venice Art Biennale and Festival dell’Oriente in several big cities in Italy, to this year’s Festa della Musica in Rome, we aim to capture the attention of Italian people. We recognize the high level of appreciation of the people of Italy towards arts and culture
and we are aware of our capacity in this field. We also recognize the notable trait of Italy as the “mecca” of the fashion industry. Realizing that campaign, we have overlooked potential in fashion and textile industry, we actively promote Indonesia’s talents as well as textile richness and quality, to match the demand of the Italian mode for practitioners. All these actions, hopefully will bring more and more Italians to Indonesia. What long and medium term investments is your country planning, concerning high technology, renewable energy and environmental protection? Since its independence on 17 August 1945, Indonesia has been striving to build its economy in a sustainable way, with a view to balance our development goals with the sustaining of our natural resources and ecosystem. Therefore, environment protection is always a prerequisite for every development project
in Indonesia. The current Government, under the leadership of President Joko Widodo, has setup nine priority agenda or NAWACITA, later translated into “National Medium Term Development Plan (2015-2019)”. It emphasizes national development that are inclusive, adding values to natural resources with a sustainable approach, in a better environment. It also promotes the interest of Indonesia as the world’s largest archipelago to be a maritime fulcrum. In order to achieve those priorities, the Government underlines the need of advanced technology in infrastructures development and the improvement of connectivity among regions in Indonesia, to boost its economic growth. We share the global concerns on the deteriorating state of global energy supply and its environmental impact; in this context, Indonesian energy policy emphasizes the need to develop new technologies in renewable energies and to guarantee the environment sustainability. I am aware that Italy is among the leading countries that invest in renewable energy. Thus, I look forward for a closer co-
operation with Italian partners, which are the global leading players in the renewable energy. Currently, there are about 225 infrastructures projects worth of more than US$ 200 billion. The varied projects, from the development of sea ports and airports to energies, roads and railways, industrial projects, power plants, housing, water supplies and dams and even the information and communication technologies, will be beneficial opportunities for investors.
More and more women are taking up positions in international diplomacy with great success. Is this a sign of more openness to a women’s world? Speaking about the advancing role of female in today’s world might be a bit no longer relevant as in 21st century there is no more barrier for women, whatever they want to be. There are notable women astronauts, business executives, diplomats and even country’s le-
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aders – positions that were dominated by male in the past. However, in general, I must admit that the women arrived late on the diplomatic scene. If I am not mistaken, it is not until 1946 that the Government of the United Kingdom allowed female to represent their nation overseas and until 1972 the State Department of USA put strict barriers for female Foreign Service officers from being married. The past conventional wisdom was the best negotiators must be forceful and inheriting masculine nature. In Indonesia, nine years after the establishment of the country in 1945, Madam Laili Rosad was assigned as Counsellor at the Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the United Nation in New York. Five years later, she was appointed the first female Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia, representing to Belgium and Luxem-
bourg, and later also to Austria. The relatively young country, 72 years this August, has indeed seen the roles of women in leadership and negotiations. Since the pre-independence days, there where brave female warriors took part in defending the nation. Notable names like Cut Niak Dien, Cut Niak Mutia, RA Kartini, Christina Marta Tiahahu, among others are well recorder as the female heroes of the country. The democracy even provides wider chances for female to take leadership in many fields: we have had a woman president, Madam Megawati Soekarnoputri and our current Foreign Minister also is female. Being a career diplomat myself, I have witnessed that there is indeed an opinion of which diplomacy is considered male’s field. However, despite that there were bigger challenges, there has been no discrimination towards my gender. Since the first posting, I was already assigned to the consular section in Mumbai, a post which was considered ‘heavy’ and ‘manly’, due to its responsibility and domestic situation. Later, the Government trusted me to take part as the team member in our Permanent Representative to the United Nation both in New York and Geneva, before appointed as the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Norway and Iceland, prior to my current role in Rome. I also lead the Directorate General of Information and Public Diplomacy. Now, I represent my Government to the Republic of Italy, Malta, San Marino and Cyprus as well as UN bodies in Rome. This surely is not an easy task, but I am sure that being a female will not provide me with unnecessary obstacles. In a more personal scale, growing up, I have never received a barrier from my parents. All female in my nuclear family were encouraged to develop and free to choose whatever profession they want to take. While this might not be the case for all women in Indonesia, but in general, the Government and society allow them to contribute in every possible way in the development of the nation, as well granted free access to politics and education.
Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia
Interview with Indonesia Minister Counsellor in Italy, H.E. Mr. Aries Asriadi By Barbara Ganetti
Indonesia Minister Counsellor in Italy H.E. Mr. Aries Asriadi
H.E. Minister Counsellor, could you explain us the effects produced by the liberalizations and the reduction of the cost of money, realized by your President Mr. Joko Widodo in 2016? Since September 2015, Indonesian Government has released a series of new economic reforms to improve investments climate and promoting trade activities, in order to maintain the economic growth of above 5%. There were fifteen policy packages introduced that are mainly focused on loan-to-value relaxation, reducing red tape, lowering final taxes and fostering
investments. In particular, the revision of the negative investment list is one of the major initiatives designed to improve the business climate, as it has paved the way for increased foreign investments in thirty-five sectors. The recent reform has helped Indonesia to better withstand external vulnerabilities from the impact of foreign institution investor’s outflow and lower price of commodities. It may difficoult to judge the ongoing economic reform in short period since some of the reform was introduced early this year, such as the measure to promote more e-commerce. What I can tell you is that there is some positive indication, such as the increasing number of foreign direct investments for about 5.8% in the first Semester 2017. Domestic investments increased by 26.1% in the same period. The series of economic reforms also improves the business climate which reflected in the World Competitiveness Ranking, in which Indonesia was ranked 42nd and the World Bank’s indicator of easy of doing business. In Indonesia the investments in high labor-intensity sectors decreased by 12% in 2015, for this reason in 2016 your Government announced liberalizations in several sectors that will be opened to the foreign assets; nowadays, what are these sectors? The economic reform released by the Government is not a direct response to the decreasing number of high labor-intensive industries
in Indonesia. It is actually a policy adjustment that we have to make because Indonesia is no longer focused only on labor intensive industries. Today, Indonesian economy has been diversified in many sectors, including the manufacturing industries that rely on more advanced technologies, instead of labor-intensive. While the labor cost remains competitive in Indonesia, the quality of labor has been significantly improved, that Indonesia is also an attractive place for investments that need high skilled labor. The series of reforms include the introduction of a new investment regime, to stimulate foreign direct investments in declining world economy. Basically, the new investment regime provides more freedom to global investors to invest in Indonesia, by removing several lines of business which were previously subject to foreign investments restriction and allowing foreign ownerships for investments in certain sectors. It provides global investors freedom to enter
Indonesia and have 100% ownership of companies in the sector of trading, including ecommerce, healthcare, tourism activities, civil work such as treatment of non-hazardous waste, and rubber industries. In addition, the Government has loosened the investments regulation in telecommunication sector, energy and resources sector, transportation and finan-
ce sectors. The Government also added more Special Economic Zone to promote more export oriented production. Indonesia’s Special Economic Zones are designated areas that offer both foreign and local investors preferential regulatory and tax regimes, as well as availability of key physical infrastructures such harbors and power plants that are very attractive for foreign investments in these zones. What are the strategies currently planned by your Government to support the economic growth without under-
mine the local productions competitively? Finding the right balance between economic liberalization and the need to encourage the development of local business is sometimes a very delicate matter. Many would resort to the policy of protectionism which deter global trade and investments. Although, in Indonesia,
we try to take a balance position with a view to create a healthy competition in the market. There are a wide range of policies taken by the Government to promote the development of local economy. For example, the Government provides easy access to finance for local business in terms of credit, including the credit for production and the export credit. Part of the reasons that make
Indonesia able to reduce poverty and upgrade its industry is the ability of the banking system to provide a low interest credit to medium and small industries. The Government also encourages the development of strong partnership between the foreign companies and local business, with a view to provide a transfer of technology and Know How. Indonesia is one of the member countries and founders of the commercial platform ASEAN, what are the new opportunities for Italian companies and in which sectors? Association of the Southeast Asian Countries or ASEAN was established in 1967 to promote peace and economic development. Since 2015, ten member countries of ASEAN have embarked on a deep economic integration in the framework of ASEAN Economic Community, which allow trade and investments freely across the region. Under this community framework, the ten ASEAN countries merged into a single market and therefore transform the Southeast Asia region as a global production base. ASEAN is a big economy entity of about 625 million population and combined GDP of US$ 2.8 trillion. I believe that those numbers represent a huge
opportunity for Italian companies to explore trade and investments. I would say that Italian companies should make use of the competitive investment climate of ASEAN and make the ASEAN as their production base. Italian companies will benefit if they relocate to ASEAN countries to have a better access to the big ASEAN market. They will also become more competitive globally because companies will enjoy lower production cost. In this regards, Italians should strongly consider the opportunity in the manufacturing industries that produce the consumer goods to cater the rising middle class in ASEAN and the competitive global market. There are also opportunities in the industries that transform the rich raw material in the ASEAN counties into a value-added products, such as in the sector of mining.
Zuccotti Mechanical Workshop an Italian excellence since 1981... By Ivan De Stefano
Erea S.r.l. Mr. Francesco Zuccotti Zuccotti Mechanical Workshop is on the Italian territory since 1981; it is situated in Lombardy, specifically in Candia Lomellina, where it covers an area of about 1500 squares meters and avails itself of national and international partnerships. They have always operated in close collaboration with the industrial companies locally located. Since 2003, Zuccotti laboratory has become Mechanical Workshop Erea s.r.l., in its path of evolution and innovation. The peculiar agility and flexibility of Erea organizational pattern – in accordance with every legislative decree in the field of job security and accident prevention – prepares this dynamic business to be the perfect partner for more structured and larger industrial companies.
Nowadays, Erea laboratory can manage entire projects and parts of them independently and always following the right and proper verification process with the customers. In these cases, the cooperation could be directly realized or
in the form of subcontracted mechanical components, related to broader projects, or also
in the form of mechanical productions supply in the systems in which the customer company is occupied. Beyond all the equipment for metal working, the workshop has three overhead travelling cranes up to 50 quintal capacity, therefore it is possible to organize the production without too many obligations linked to the transfer of pieces during the working phase. In the following interview in the EREA office, we have met its founder, Mr. Francesco Zuccotti, that kindly allowed an interview in order to better understand how the innovation of an historic Italian company, specialized in agricultural mechanics, could meet the qualitative standard imposed by the market.
ted turnover; moreover, a very important element: we have invested in high technology machineries, assuring an operation more and more specialized. The companies with which we cooperate are consolidated for many years and they have a crucial function, they allow us to be punctual and efficient. In what segments is your company specialized? Since 2013, with the creation of Erea Mechanical Workshop, we develop direct constructions and also for third parties. We are specialized in machineries for agriculture, thanks to the demands of the farmers, always more determined to address their production toward the biological agriculture. Today, we offer innovative high quality machineries uniquely addressed to the biological agriculture, such as the Roller Crimper, one of our first machineries: this is a CE certified machinery that compresses the weeds in the cultivated land, in order to create a protection for the seeds and avoiding the use of phytochemicals – that are unimaginable in the biological agriculture because it imposes to do not use phytochemicals treatments; this process is called mulch. What does O.M. Erea offer, compared to its competitors in the sector of components for agricultural machineries? Nowadays, our know-how enables us to develop projects ad hoc for the necessities linked to agriculture; the youngest creation of agricultural machinery in Erea Workshop has been required from an Italian company – that is also
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one of our partners – and this equipment will be commercialized on international markets. This new machinery has been patented last June and it will be used for the irrigation of cultivated lands; unlike the other machineries used for this activity, in our creation we have added the automation that guarantees less costs for the company. Suffice it to say that with old machineries at least three resources were needed, with this new concept of mechanized irrigation a single resource is enough to guarantee a larger irrigation coverage. Today, this new machinery makes us competitive for the demand of international markets, especially in those countries where the ground is very arid or not flat, we suggest this product of very high quality that reflects the specific requirements of Italian high technology machineries; moreover, we assure all the spare parts and the assistance to our customers, a very important quality for our company.
SAUDIA, WELCOME to YOUR WORLD! by Barbara Ganetti
The largest company in the Gulf carrying about twenty million passengers a year. SkyTeam alliance member, Saudia has a fleet which includes, both in Europe and in Asia, the very modern Boeing 787 and 777300ER. It’s complemented by the excellent service on board. “Welcome to your world”! Saudia flights from Rome and Milan to Riyadh and Jeddah, with 13 non-stop flights: seven from Roma and six from Milan that allow a weekly cover for easy access to Saudi Arabia from Italy. Operational are targeted mainly for business travellers, with convenient onward connection, and a network of
domestic routes that are the basis of an operational strategy to facilitate the connections in such a large country. The company’s network reaches over 90 destinations around the world: Africa, Asia, the Middle and Far East (including China, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, India), and continues to invest in new routes in July 2016 has successfully launched flights from Monaco to JEDDAH RIYADH and, from 18th November 2016, from Ankara (Turkey) to Saudi Arabia in addition to the already ‘existing daily flights from Istanbul. COMPARTMENTS ON BOARD Saudi Arabian Airlines offers its customers three travel classes on most of its flights: First Class, Business Class and Guest Class. Customer satisfaction is a top priority, starting with the reservation and follow up with check-in, boarding, onboard service, landing, baggage delivery and, finally, assistance on arrival.
ENTERTAINMENT ON BOARD Saudi Arabian Airlines uses the most advanced technology to meet the needs of passengers, especially on long-haul flights. On many aircraft Saudia seats have individual video screens touch or managed by fully integrated control panels. This interactive system offers 24 on-demand video channels which can reach up to 40. MEALS ON BOARD On board of Saudi Arabian Airlines all meals are prepared according to world class standards, combining haute cuisine with technology of food science. The catering service of the airline, Saudia Catering, has earned an international reputation for the quality of its food, placed not only at the service of Saudi Arabian Airlines, but also for other national and international airlines.
Future scenarios in liver disease by Barbara Ganetti
Prof. Giuseppe Cerasari, S. Camillo – Forlanini Hospital, Roma
We are witnessing epochal change in liver disease Viral hepatitis, particularly chronic hepatitis C virus, is going to be eradicated by new direct antiviral drugs, which have shown over the last 2 years an extraordinary efficacy, succeeding in eradicating viruses in the percentage of patients who it is around 100%. Over the next 10 years, we could witness the progressive disappearance of hepatitis C virus. In this interview, allowed by courtesy of Prof. Giuseppe Cerasari, Manager of the Center for Study and Management of hepatic and pancreatic transplant, S. Camillo – Forlanini Hospital in Rome, we will discover the significant progresses of the global medicine, in particular in the Italian research field related to the viral hepatitis. Prof. Cerasari what will be the future scenario in liver disease? Will there be no major diseases? Contrary to what one might suppose, the scenario seems to be without concern. In fact,
other pathologies are rising like alcoholic hepatitis and hepatic steatosis. Above all, hepatic steatosis is becoming a problem of public and social health.
Prof. Cerasari can you explain better what is steatosis liver? Simply referred to is accumulation of fat in the liver, which can evolve over time in NASH (Non Alcoholic Steatohepatitis) and liver cirrhosis by favoring the development of liver cancer. Hepatic steatosis is part of a more general clinical picture that constitutes the metabolic syndrome of which it is a particular aspect.
Prof. Cerasari the metabolic syndrome what is it about? By definition, it relates to a group of chronic conditions that indicate increased cardiovascular risk. It includes central obesity, insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia. An increase in abdominal fat corresponds to an increase in visceral fat especially in the liver. Let’s talk about NAFLD (Non alcoholic fatty liver disease). NAFLD is a chronic liver condition characterized by hepatic fat accumulation in the absence of ethanol abuse (<20 gr / die) and other identifiable causes. It is associated with insulin resistance and it is considered the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. Prof. Cerasari why talk about NAFLD today? Because the numbers are already clear today. People with this disease are constantly increasing with significant social costs. Prof. Cerasari Can you give us some information? In the US there are over 64 million people
whih NAFLD, In Europe there are ∼52 million people with NAFLD with an annual cost of about €35 billion. But children are also affected by a prevalence of NALFD of 8-10%. Also there is an increase with age, the male is most affected, higher in Caucasian and Hispanic. But the most worrying thing is increasing trend in time with the big epidemic public health burden in the next future. This is because above ¼ of world population have NAFLD. In the US, NASH is the second leading signal for liver transplantation. The 10 -20% of peoples with NAFLD (3 to 6% of the general population) may have NASH, thus a progressive chronic liver disease leading to cirrhosis and hepatic carcinoma. An estimated US 83.1 million NAFLD cases in 2015 will increase to 101.1 million by 2030. Prof. Cerasari should we also worry about the pediatric population? Certainly. It is becoming increasingly clear that the occurrence of pediatric cases of NAFLD and NASH associated with or not with obesity and diabetes is a global health concern affecting Asian countries in the same percentages. In Indonesia the percentage is about 20%.
Note on the Summary of interaction between Indonesia By Ivan De Stefano
ICGEB is a Centre of excellence for research, training and technology transfer to industry in the field of biotechnology to promote sustainable global development. Indonesia is a Signatory to the Statutes of the ICGEB, which was established in 1983 as a special project of UNIDO, and operates as an autonomous, intergovernmental Organization within the United Nations System since 1994. Despite substantial interaction over the years, the Indonesian Government has yet to deposit the Instrument of Accession to the ICGEB Statutes with the Secretary General of the United Nations, New York, thereby completing the final step to becoming a full Member State of the Organization. Membership: Benefits and Requirements The ICGEB is unique among all International Organizations in pursuing its goals through a global approach that also involves advanced experimental research in its own laboratories in Trieste (Italy), where the Headquarters are also located, New Delhi (India) and Cape Town (South Africa). These provide a scientific environment of top international standard for advanced research and education,
as well as for the practical development of biotechnology products for over 60 Member States with the mission to contribute to global international development through scientific, educational and technology transfer activities in the field of biotechnology. Members of this Organization variously contribute to its international and domestic activities. Being a Member of the ICGEB extends far beyond the small, practical benefits that individual scientists and research centers can obtain from the ICGEB funding programs. For the least developed countries, membership in the ICGEB means having access to, and becoming part of, global advancement in life science internationally. For countries with emerging economies, membership can facilitate the creation of international hubs within the geographical area in which the country itself is located. Finally, for all countries, active participation in the ICGEB actions results in partnering to achieve global international cooperation across a unique technological and educational platform. In terms of participation in meetings regarding ICGEB Governance, there is only one
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annual Board meeting that takes place, generally in May, in Trieste, Italy, New Delhi, India or in Cape Town, South Africa. The 24th session of the Board will be held in Trieste, Italy from 10-11 May, 2018. There are no other compulsory meetings. ICGEB organizes, on average, 20 scientific meetings per year at the three Components in Trieste, Delhi and Cape Town and
in its Member States, for which nationals of ICGEB Member States are eligible to apply and for which there are a number of grants to support registration fees and/or living expenses. There are, furthermore, many opportunities to attend other meetings organized or sponsored by ICGEB on other donorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expenses. In 2016, ICGEB sponsored participation in events by 560 participants.
Further information is available at: http:// www.icgeb.trieste.it/meetings-and-courses. html In the context of agricultural biotechnology, the Biosafety Group at ICGEB participates in Governmental meetings and is runs Workshops on Biosafety Capacity Building and Risk Management of GMOs (Further information at: http://biosafety.icgeb.org/). ICGEB awards an average of 19 grants per year under the CRP-ICGEB Grants Program. In 2016, the Selection Committee actually approved 21 proposals (10 standard grants and 11 Early Career Return Grants) on a competitive basis and considering geographical distribution. (Further information is available at: http://www.icgeb.org/research-grantsimpact.html)
The Fellowships Program offers long and short-term fellowships (PhD - 1 call per year and offering financial support for 3 years; Postdocs - 2 calls per year and offering financial support for an average period of 2 years; Short-term PhD and Postdocs - with 4 calls for application per year offering fellowships of 1-12 monthsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; duration). There is no specified limit on the number of trainees (Fellows) from any one country who
can work and study simultaneously at ICGEB. The selection process for long and short-term PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowships, however, focuses on scientific excellence on a competitive basis and does consider geographical distribution of awards. (Further information is available at: http://www.icgeb.org/fellowships-statistics.html)
to contribute to strengthen research skills, knowledge and capacities of the local scientific community while pursuing specific objectives for research, training and technology transfer to industry, to benefit both the hosting country and the region where the RRC is located. Technology Transfer activities are undertaken through the Biotechnology Development Group active in Trieste, Italy and the Recombinant Gene Products Group in New Delhi, India and focus on procedures for the development of simple and innovative technologies for the production of biosimilars, and on genetically engineered biomolecules of medical use and viral diagnostics, respectively: procedures and products that can be adapted to the conditions or requirements of Member States. (Further information at: http://www.icgeb. trieste.it/biotechnology-transfer.html) Regarding Outreach activities, ICGEB has been running an in-house podcasting facility since 2011 and distributes its films featuring broad scientific content on iTunes U (part of the iTunes Store and featuring free lectures), constituting a vast learning resource that offers free educational movies for users to download straight to their computer and mobile devices.
Once Indonesia has attained full membership status in ICGEB, specific collaborative activities might materialize, together with other funding agencies, to provide substantial support to the Indonesian scientific community and its laboratories. ICGEB provides the opportunity to establish ICGEB Regional Research Centers (RRCs)
The ICGEB Podcast facility makes a range of high quality, audio-visual assets from its international, annual meetings and courses, seminars, lessons and public events freely and openly accessible for download and sharing, with a view to communicate the diversity and strength of its international research and expertise. Collections currently include over 470 films covering close to 50 topics in Health & Medicine and Science, and are also available on the ICGEB Web site and YouTube channel. ICGEB movies are previewed and downloaded an average 100,000 times a year in over 80 countries and receive millions of hits on the Web each month.
Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia International Economy and Culture Magazine
Milan, 25th October 2017, 16h30 EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA in Italy and THE PROGRESS TIME Magazine, at the Relais Chateau Monfort in Milan, present the preview event:
INDONESIA, A COUNTRY CONSTANTLY GROWING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR ITALIAN COMPANIES The purpose of this convention is to attract the interest of Italian companies concerning the numerous opportunities of import/export and investment in Indonesia; moreover, it aims to create a stable and structured platform for trade cooperation between these two countries, in order to achieve a synergy between Italian and Indonesian banking institutions, in support of entrepreneurial projects. In the heart of the convention, speakers representing Indonesia, Indonesia Ambassador in Italy, H.E Mrs. Esti Andayani, regarding the bilateral aspect; Minister Counsellor of Economic Affairs, Mr. Aries Asriadi, for trade aspect; Chief of Bank Indonesia Representative Office for Europe, Mr. Donny Hutabarat concerning to macro economy of Indonesia & banking support for business activities; Director of Indonesia Investment Promotion Centre (IIPC)
in London, Mr. Nurul Ichwan, regarding investment opportunity in Indonesia. Italian companies present (depending on their sectors): agricultural machinery – energy – food and beverage – plastic – industrial chemistry – industrial electronics – pharmaceutical industry – research and innovation. In-depth subjects: specific attention will be paid to the growing economic development of Indonesia, that nowadays is an important actor of the ASEAN area, a market still to discover for our Italian companies. The analysis of Indonesia growth rate, the reforms realized by its Government that favor the internal development and attract huge Foreign Direct Investments. Presentation of the Know How of Italian companies and the possibilities of cooperation for Indonesian entrepreneurs. Conference language: English
For further information about the program: www.kemlu.go.id/rome - www.theprogresstime.com
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