United States, Indonesia to Accelerate Papua Development

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States through civilian foreign aid and development assistance USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) and the National Development Planning Ministry (Bappenas) on Wednesday launched a new initiative that aims to accelerate development in Papua and West Papua touted as the Papua Collaborative Governance Indonesia Project or USAID Kolaborasi.

USAID Kolaborasi is a five-year, $10 million initiative to support Indonesia’s Master Plan for the Acceleration of Development for Papua (RIPPP), which aims to strengthen cooperation with development partners, businesses, and other stakeholders. 

The program will assist the provinces of Papua and West Papua to use Special Autonomy Funds for maximum benefit for its population. Together with Bappenas and local governments, USAID Kolaborasi will improve the quality of public service delivery and improve the skills of local government agencies to oversee budget allocation and execution, and engage local residents. 

“This new collaboration with Bappenas demonstrates our commitment to supporting the Indonesian government in realizing its goal of a prosperous Papua region,” said USAID Indonesia Mission Director Jeff Cohen as cited from the Indonesian U.S. Embassy website. “USAID Kolaborasi promotes collaborative governance in Papua and West Papua by improving the capacity of local governments and the engagement of Papua Indigenous People (OAP) in local development.”

Taufik Hanafi, Secretary of the Ministry of PPN/Main Secretary of Bappenas, stated that the strengthened collaboration will play an important role in mobilizing program and funding resources to focus on achieving development goals in the RIPPP.

The statement also wrote that the United States is committed to partnering with the Indonesian government to address important development challenges. USAID looks forward to expanding its close relationship with Bappenas and working with other local partners such as Cendrawasih University and the University of Papua to improve the functioning and accountability of governance in Papua and West Papua.

TEMPO.CO | id.usembassy.gov

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