A scientist works inside the research room for the Merah Putih vaccine candidate at state-owned pharmaceutical holding company PT Bio Farma's office in Bandung, West Java (Photo: Antara)
Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo has declared thatthe country has set a plan to start its own vaccine production by mid-2021.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting on September 1, Widodo said a jointventure of domestic companies were tasked with developing a potential COVID-19vaccine, with 30-40 percent of this process had been completed.
He expressed the hope that clinical trials could be started as early as 2021,before commercial production begins mid-next year.
The vaccine named “Merah Putih” is being developed by a joint ventureunder the Ministry of Research and Technology led by the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology.
Previously, Director of the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology Amin Soebandrio saidthe vaccine is expected to meet at least 50 percent of the country'svaccination demand.
In addition toself-developing the anti-viral vaccine, Indonesia has also ordered 290 milliondoses of COVID-19 vaccine during recent visits by ForeignMinister Retno Marsudi and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir to China and the United ArabEmirates (UAE). These vaccines will be delivered to Indonesia before the end of 2021.
China’sbiopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech - one of Indonesia's two COVID-19 vaccinesuppliers - has worked closely with the Southeast Asian country to help developits own vaccine./.
Plans to reopen Bali to international visitors on September 11 have been postponed following the Indonesian government’s decision to wait until the end of this year.
Indonesia plans to provide COVID-19 vaccines to its people free of charge by 2021, Chairman of the COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Committee Erick Thohir said on August 27.
Chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) Daeng M. Fiqih said his association had coordinated with the national COVID-19 task force and relevant departments to ensure the availability of protective equipment in hospitals and health facilities so as to prevent more deaths among health workers.
In his article, Oscar Sanchez Serra highlighted President Ho Chi Minh’s founding of the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper on June 21, 1925, which marked the birth of Vietnam's revolutionary press rooted in a bold and far-sighted vision.
Several ASEAN meetings are scheduled to take place in Port Dickson this September, including the Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) for ASEAN Plus Three (APT), the East Asia Summit (EAS), the 15th ASEAN Maritime Forum, and the 13th Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum.
Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has ordered the urgent implementation of a national policy to crack down on all forms of call centre scams, online fraud, and illegal gambling, which are now considered threats to national security.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and EAEU Trade Minister Andrey Slepnev jointly declared the conclusion of FTA talks on the sidelines of the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025), according to the statement.
The article stressed that throughout his revolutionary career, the founder of modern Vietnam consistently regarded the revolutionary press as a vital part of the Vietnamese Party’s and nation’s revolutionary struggle.
Pichai said the trade talks with the US are important and need to move forward professionally, without regard for any political changes in Thailand, believing that Thailand has clear principles, guidelines and procedures in place.
The tax adjustment supports the Malaysian Government’s strategy to reduce reliance on foreign food supply chains and to assist domestic farmers, a finance official has said.
The proposed venue is located in the Chatuchak area of Bangkok, featuring eight public sites, including Krungthep Aphiwat Central Terminal and several nearby parks.
Connectivity is expected to improve further with the completion of the fifth Laos–Thailand Friendship Bridge by the end of 2025, facilitating logistics and agricultural exports to Vietnam, Thailand, and China.
Two naval gunboats intercepted a fishing vessel carrying 1.5 tonnes of methamphetamine hydrochloride off the coast of the main island of Luzon just before dawn, in a joint operation with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
In the today context of socio-economic development and growth, the professionalism of Vietnam’s revolutionary journalists continues to rise, guided by exemplary mastery of new information technologies and the modernisation of their founding principles to preserve the enduring values of revolutionary journalism.
Thai Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Vuttikrai Leewiraphan Thailand's formal proposal will be substantial enough for the US to consider further detailed negotiations. He hoped for a tariff rate not exceeding 10% and suggested that the US might extend the negotiation period if an agreement is not reached by the July 8 deadline.
Organised by the Ministry of Culture and the Association of Thai Silk & Culture Promotions, the event honors Her Majesty the Queen on her 47th birthday anniversary and promotes Thai craftsmanship on an international stage.
Prensa Latina's recent article on Vietnam’s assurance of smooth and effective transition to a leaner structure highlighted Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s latest directions on implementing 28 resolutions regarding the decentralisation and delegation of authority.
The lab focuses on four key thematic areas: energy transition and green innovation, sustainable agriculture, circular economy and sustainable cities, and nature-based solutions and biodiversity.
The key content of the document titled "Accelerating Innovative Strategies: Addressing the OOSCY Challenges" will be refined further in a seminar preceding the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur this October.
This follows Telegram’s serious failure to address the content that has been repeatedly reported to them, despite various efforts of negotiation and cooperation made by MCMC, it said.
A scientist works inside the research room for the Merah Putih vaccine candidate at state-owned pharmaceutical holding company PT Bio Farma's office in Bandung, West Java (Photo: Antara) 
