TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Prime Minister James Marape convened for a bilateral meeting in APEC Haus, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea today, July 5, 2023. In his opening remarks, Jokowi alluded to last year’s meeting with Prime Minister Marape.

“Thank you for the warm welcome, Papua New Guinea is a close neighbor as well as a strategic partner to Indonesia, and since our meeting last year, we have achieved a lot including the MoU signing and ratification on the opening of border activity,” said Jokowi in his opening remarks streamed through Presidential Secretariat’s official Youtube, on Wednesday, July 5, 2023.

The president explained the relations between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea as not only close friends but also cognate countries. President Jokowi also applies native Papua New Guinea’s “Wan” which describes unity and togetherness. “We are “Wan family”. The closest brother is called a neighbor,” the State Leader remarked.

Jokowi and his entourage arrived in Port Moresby at 12:15 p.m. from Sydney Australia. He was immediately welcomed by Marape along with ‘Hiri Moale’.

Prior to the bilateral meeting, he met Marape head-to-head. “After a 35-minute long tête-à-tête, President Jokowi and his entourage proceeded with the scheduled meeting,” the Press Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat explained.

In their private meeting, Prime Minister Marape introduced several of Papua New Gunea’s government officials, including the Minister for Lands and Physical Planning John Rosso, Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources Lino Tom, Minister for Health Jelta Wong, Minister for Agriculture Aye Tambua, Minister for Education Jimmy Uguro, Minister for Higher Education Don Polye, Minister for Coffee Joe Kuli, Minister for Oil Palm Francis Maneke, Minister for State Enterprise William Duma, and Minister for Forestry Walter Schnaubelt.

Meanwhile, in the bilateral meeting, Jokowi was accompanied by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, State Secretary Minister Pratikno, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Minister of Investment Affairs/ Head of BPKM Bahlil Lahadalia, Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan, Director General of Asia-Pacific and Africa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Adi Dzulfuat, and Indonesia’s Consular in Vanimo Allen Simarmata.

At the end of the meeting, President Jokowi and Prime Minister Marape also saw the signing of a memorandum of understanding regarding Cooperation in the Higher Education Sector which was ratified by Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and Minister for Higher Education Don Polye.

Following this meeting, Jokowi will also visit a business forum with Papua New Guinea’s enterprises and launched a premier Citilink flight route Denpasar-Port Moresby.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH / NAJLA NUr FAUZIYAH

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