Bogor - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to launch a "Rise Indonesian Jamu (Medicinal Herb) Exhibition" and symbolically open an international symposium on wild ginger at the State Palace on Tuesday.
"Based on the schedule we have received , the launch of the exhibition and the symbolic opening of the symposium will take place at the State Palace on Tuesday afternoon," the chairperson of the events‘ organizing committee, Prof Dr Latifah K. Darusman MS, said on Sunday.
The symposium would be held in the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB)‘s International Convention Center on Tuesday and Wednesday, she said.
Six experts on jamu and traditional medicines from Europe, China, India, Japan, Korea and Indonesia would deliver keynote speeches at the symposium, she said.
"Through the symposium, Indonesia will promote the increased use of and research on wild ginger as an Indonesian medicinal herb in an effort to support the health of the international community," Latifah added.
During the symposium Indonesia would also look for scientific reports on developments in the use of wild ginger (Curcuma xanthorrizha Roxb) in other countries.
She said wild ginger was chosen as the main theme of the symposium as a survey on 609 jamu products had shown that wild ginger was the main ingredient in 179 of them.
The long-term target of the symposium was to make wild ginger the icon of Indonesian jamu just as ginseng was the icon of Korean medicinal herbs.
Latifah said Indonesian jamu exports currently accounted for only five percent of the world jamu market or for much less than Chinese and Indian medicinal herbs did.
Source: www.antara.co.id (28 Mei 2008)
