TEMPO.CO, Papua - The Papua provincial administration is exploring cooperation with the government of Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture to develop indigenous human resources.

The first meeting between the Papua Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDM) and the Fukuoka Prefecture Government's International Cooperation Agency took place online, and is expected to be followed up by the drafting of a memorandum of understanding, BPSDM head Aryoko Rumaropen informed.

Through the proposed cooperation, native Papuans will be able to get agricultural technical and vocational training under the Fukuoka prefecture government's scholarship scheme, he said.

The Papua provincial government has disclosed on its website, which ANTARA accessed on Wednesday, that it appreciates the cooperation with the Fukuoka government.

Papua Governor Lukas Enembe said the training program is expected to cover agricultural skills in general, including know-how on food crops, plantation, and cattle breeding.

The development of human resources in Papua and West Papua remains a challenge, considering the Human Development Index scores of the two provinces, which lag behind other Indonesian provinces.

Papua and West Papua scored 64.7 and 60.84 respectively on Indonesia's 2019 Human Development Index.

To improve the quality of human capital in Papua and West Papua, the Indonesian Finance Ministry has suggested that the regional governments allocate an endowment fund to finance human resource development and the education of native Papuans.

The fund can be allocated from Papua Province's annual budget, director of the Finance Ministry's Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) Scholarship Program, Dwi Larso, stated.

The Papuan administration could adopt a similar endowment fund for education as the LPDP to support its human resources development efforts, he added.

The funding resources could be the Papua provincial government's annual budget, special autonomy funds, or other resources, Larso said.

Through the endowment fund for education, the Papua provincial administration could finance human resources development, education, and research programs more easily, he pointed out.

Scientists, whose research is funded by the endowment fund, could help the Papua provincial government manage the province's abundant natural resources, he added.

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ANTARA