The Speaker of the Indonesian Parliament, Puan Maharani, during her recent visit to Papua New Guinea, emphasized the importance of solidarity among Melanesian countries. The meeting aims to strengthen bilateral relations while discussing opportunities for future cooperation.

Puan said that as Indonesia’s neighbor to the east, the meeting reflects that Indonesian diplomacy must be balanced. This means not only focusing on rivalries with other major countries, but also paying attention to the countries around it, especially in the eastern region.

During the meeting, the two countries agreed to provide mutual support and respect each other’s sovereignty. Puan stated that the issue of sovereignty that had been discussed with Papua New Guinea needs to be brought to international forums, including on the agenda of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Summit to be held in November 2024.

She also emphasized the importance of strengthening relations between the people of the two countries. According to her, this can be done through exchange visits between the younger generation and increasing cooperation in the field of education.

Puan Maharani assessed that Indonesia and Papua New Guinea have great potential as economic powers in the Pacific region. Therefore, inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two countries is believed to have a significant impact on the prosperity of the region. If the two countries can collaborate well, the potential that is generated will be very beneficial.

She also noted that in the last five years, there has been an average increase of 9.2 percent in the value of trade between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Therefore, the continuation of the discussion on the Preferential Trade Agreement is very important.

Concluding her statement, Puan said that currently it is the end of the ongoing working period of the Indonesian Parliament. She emphasized that over the past five years, this legislative institution has been active in carrying out parliamentary diplomacy to overcome various global challenges and fight for Indonesia’s interests.

In the memorandum of cooperation signed between the Indonesian Parliament and the Papua New Guinea Parliament, there is an agreement to visit each other between the leaders and members of parliament from both countries. In addition, it was also agreed to support each other in international parliamentary forums, as well as increase capacity and share best practices and experiences related to legislative functions, budget oversight, and cooperation between parliamentary secretariats to support the legislative functions of each country.