Jayapura historical meeting between foreign ministers of PNG and Indonesia

A historical bilateral meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tkatchenko and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Masurdi took place at the PNG – Indonesia land border.

"Minister Tkatchenko will write history today [Wednesday]. This is the first time that a bilateral meeting between Foreign Ministers of Indonesia and PNG is taking place in Jayapura," Mrs Masurdi told a joint press conference following the 4th Joint Ministerial Commission [JMC], and 3rd Senior Officials Meeting [SOM] from May 8-9.

The meetings also marked a first in Indonesia's history for a sitting Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit Jayapura.

"As an immediate neighbor, PNG is a natural partner for Indonesia," the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister said.

In response, the PNG Foreign Affairs Minister reassured "Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi of the importance PNG places on its bilateral relations with Indonesia, that friendship should be built on trust, and PNG values Indonesia as an important bilateral partner."

Mr Tkatchenko was the host of the Jayapura meetings and formally extended the National Government gratitude for Indonesia's grant assistance of K60 million for the Port Moresby General Hospital Intensive Care Unit and redevelopment of the Mortuary, and West Sepik Integrated Development Project that includes the Wutung Primary School classroom building project, upgrade of Vanimo Fire Station and Vanimo Waste Management System.

Minister Tkatchenko and Minister Masurdi officiated the official signing of two agreements between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia following the meetings on Wednesday.

These agreements are a Framework Agreement on Development and Technical Cooperation and an Agreement for Training and Capacity Building for mid-career diplomats from Melanesian Spearhead Group countries.

Both Ministers also acknowledged the Defense Cooperation Agreement [DCA] which has been ratified by both sides and is currently progressing to "Enter into Force".

Minister Masurdi reiterated that as two neighboring countries that share a cross-border, the DCA is critical to strengthen security amidst the geopolitical dynamics in the region.

"On border cooperation, we agree to encourage further cooperation to strengthen connectivity in the border areas" The Ministers reaffirmed a commitment to collaboration for the PNG-Indonesia Business Forum, Downstream Processing Cooperation, and the PNG/Indonesia Joint Task Force."