VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has sought a more effective blueprint for accelerating development in Papua and West Papua provinces.

"We have to build a new system and design, a more effective way of working in order to be able to produce leaps in the advancement of welfare for the people of Papua and West Papua," Vice President Ma'ruf said at the Vice Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday.

At a meeting of the Steering Committee for the Integrated Team for the Acceleration of Welfare Development in Papua and West Papua Provinces, the Vice President asked his rank and file to immediately draft a new system so that it can be implemented from 2021.

The Vice President said the new design for the development of Papua and West Papua should emphasize a cultural approach, with priority accorded to seven customary areas.

"The priority targets are seven customary areas," he said.

To bring about development in the two eastern provinces of Indonesia, the government has issued Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 9 of 2020 concerning the Acceleration of Welfare Development in Papua and West Papua Provinces and Presidential Decree (Keppres) Number 20 of 2020 concerning the Integrated Coordination Team for the Acceleration of Welfare Development in Papua Province and West Papua Province.

During the meeting, the Vice President also spoke about the problem of poverty, which remains high in the two provinces.

"Therefore, we need to put this Inpres policy perspective into a new spirit and design for Papua, in accordance with the President's direction at the Papua meeting on March 11, 2020," he said.

The Vice President also stressed that the objective of the Presidential Instruction was to build advanced, prosperous, peaceful, and dignified communities in Papua and West Papua provinces.

"I need to reiterate that the rationale and purpose of this determination is to prioritize the improvement of the welfare of the people of Papua and West Papua," he said.

The meeting was attended by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Minister of Home Affairs, Tito Karnavian, Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani, Minister of National Development Planning (PPN) and head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Suharso Monoarfa, Presidential Chief of Staff, Moeldoko, head of the Secretariat of the Vice President (Kasetwapres), Mohamad Oemar, and Special Staff of the Vice President, Bambang Widianto. (antaranews)