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South Sulawesi & Southwest Papua Cooperate on Industry, Trade

The Southwest Papua Provincial Government and the South Sulawesi Provincial Government signed a cooperation agreement related to regional development in the industrial and trade sectors.

In his statement in Makassar City, South Sulawesi on July 11, 2024, South Sulawesi Acting Governor Zudan Arif Fakrulloh expressed his gratitude for the willingness of the Southwest Papua Provincial Government to jointly advance both provinces' development, governance, and social relations of their populace.

"I feel happy that we can collaborate on governnance," he added..

Zudan revealed cooperation between local governments is a directive from President Jokowi, which was conveyed again by the Home Affairs Ministry. The reason is because each region has its own advantages and disadvantages, so cooperation is needed to support each other.

South Sulawesi, he said, is also ready to help Southwest Papua in the field of government digital trasformation, human resource development, and even food needs as it is a new province, being the 38^th in the order of founding.

"Insya Allah, Southwest Papua could progress quickly and always be successful. We are ready to support, collaborate, and synergize to attain achievements [together]," he said.

Meanwhile, Southwest Papua Acting Governor Mohammad Musa'ad said that, as the newest province, many improvements must be made by Southwest Papua. Hence, it is very important to invite and get support from various provinces.

"Especially South Sulawesi, because we know it is a province that is the axis of the eastern region of Indonesia. We are grateful, in a relatively short time this signing can take place," he said.

The various avenues of development potential for Southwest Papua that could get support from South Sulawesi include tourism, such as for the famed Raja Ampat, as well as oil and gas, nickel, along with coal. Southwest Papua is at present limited to being a raw material producer, and the results are processed elsewhere.

"We hope that, in the future, investors from South Sulawesi could be encouraged to invest in Papua with support from parties that include the South Sulawesi Provincial Government so that we are not just [raw material] producers but can also process them," he said.

Of interest to Southwest Papua is South Sulawesi's produce, which would allow the former to get commodities such as chili and shallots nearer than Java. Likewise, there is also hope for cooperation in the fields of education and health.

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