goodmorningpapua.com – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that Indonesia gets ready to reopen the border gate with Papua New Guinea. This is done to restore trade and the economy of the people in the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border area.
This was conveyed by Jokowi in a joint press conference after meeting with the Prime Minister (PM) of Papua New Guinea, James Marape at the Bogor Palace, West Java, Thursday (31/3/2022).
“Indonesia is also ready to reopen the border with Papua New Guinea to restore cross-border trade and the economic pulse of the people living in border areas,” said Jokowi.
For him, the trade value between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea will increase by 87 percent in 2021. This figure is higher than the trade value in the previous year or before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This gives hope and optimism for the post-pandemic economic recovery and I believe there are still many opportunities for improvement,” he said.
Jokowi also welcomed the launch of a feasibility study for the establishment of a preferential trade agreement between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
He assessed the importance of establishing a bilateral investment agreement to facilitate and provide security for investors from both countries.
“In this regard, I have assigned the Minister of SOEs, the Minister of Public Works, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources and the Minister of Trade together with the KADIN delegation and Indonesian businessmen to carry out a trade and investment mission in PNG (Papua New Guinea) in the near future,” Jokowi explained.
On the other hand, he admitted that his meeting with PM James Marape was very friendly. Jokowi appreciates Papua New Guinea’s consistency in respecting Indonesia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity
“This principle is important to continue to be respected and implemented by all countries consistently,” said Jokowi.