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PNG PM praises Jokowi's Papuan visit
Red carpet welcome: Indonesian President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo (second right) along with Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter OâNeill (right) are greeted by local dancers as they enter the Parliament building in Port Moresby on Monday
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span class="caption">Red carpet welcome: Indonesian President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo (second right) along with Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O'Neill (right) are greeted by local dancers as they enter the Parliament building in Port Moresby on Monday. Courtesy of Presidential Office/Rusman
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill praised President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's visit to Papua last week, during which Jokowi freed five political prisoners and ended decades-long restrictions on media access to the island.
O'Neill said he was 'very much encouraged by the President's visit to Papuan provinces over the last few days', especially by Jokowi's peace-promotion efforts in Indonesia's easternmost provinces.
Speaking at a dinner Monday at the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Parliament building, O'Neill expressed his strong desire to work closely with Indonesia to create peace and stability in the provinces of Papua and West Papua, his country's nearest neighbor, where a long-running dispute between Indonesian security forces and groupings of separatist fighters continues.
Increased cooperation, he said, would 'help our Melanesian brothers and sisters build better lives for themselves'.
'We appreciate that there is also a great deal of passion and emotion in this discussion, but it is a matter for which everyone deep down wants the same outcome. All we want is for there to be peace and there to be calm and understanding between PNG and the Papuan provinces,' he remarked.
O'Neill cited efforts made by several Papuan rebel groups (ULMWP), to become full members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) as evidence of the need for stronger communication between the two countries.
The ULMWP is a grouping of three West Papuan groups, namely the Federal Republic of West Papua, the West Papua National Parliament and the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL).
Last year at the annual MSG Leaders' Summit in Port Moresby, the WPNCL's membership application was rejected. The group re-submitted their application at MSG headquarters in Port Vila, Vanuatu, in February, and is still awaiting response.
O'Neill said any application for membership would require Indonesia's endorsement.
'As was agreed upon at a recent MSG leaders meeting, this [application for membership] must be endorsed by the Indonesian government,' he said.
Meanwhile, in his speech, Jokowi called PNG 'a very important neighbor that not only lives next door, but also shares the same hopes'.
Jokowi said PNG 'provides a strategic link between Indonesia and the Pacific region', saying he was sure that, 'as a brother, PNG will help Indonesia forge friendships with other Melanesian countries in the region'.
Jokowi reminded those present of O'Neill's visit to Jakarta last October for his inauguration as president, when the two countries pledged to boost ties and establish a basis for better cooperation.
'My visit reaffirms that commitment. I am optimistic that bilateral ties between Indonesia and PNG will continue to improve into the future,' Jokowi said.
The President arrived in Port Moresby on Monday. On Tuesday, the two heads of state are slated to hold bilateral talks, where they are expected to sign several memorandums of understanding (MoUs), including on preventing and combating transnational crimes; on human-resource development in the energy sector; and on electricity.
