Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) led a ceremony to celebrate National Teachers` Day and the Association of Indonesian Teachers` (PGRI`s) 72nd Anniversary at the Patriot Candrabhaga Stadium in Bekasi, West Java, on December 2, 2017.

During the celebration attended by nearly 40 thousand people, the head of state greeted and reverently paid tribute to all teachers of Indonesia by bowing down in front of tens of thousands of teachers present at the event.

President Jokowi has stated that the teachers` quality must be offset with their welfare.

The Indonesian Association of Salt Industries (AIPGI) urges the Indonesian government to encourage investment in the country's salt industry in order to reduce reliance on imports of salt from abroad. Indonesia consumes about 4.2 million tons of salt per year. However, domestic production can only reach up to 2 million tons, hence more than half of Indonesia's salt demand needs to be imported.

A new geothermal project has been started in South Halmahera Regency, North Maluku (Malut), Indonesia. The project is located in Songa-Wayau Village, Bacan Middle East District.

The month-long Banda People Festival is set to become an annual event as part of the efforts to expose the beautiful but remote Banda Islands of Maluku to the world.