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Indonesia's eastern provinces lead engagement with Pacific island nations
Representatives of Indonesia's eastern provinces expect Jakarta to get serious about building infrastructure for trade in the South Pacific.
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Djitron Koriyon Pah (center) showcases the sasando, a musical instrument native to his hometown on Rote Island in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), to visitors of the Pacific Exposition event in Auckland, New Zealand on Sunday. Indonesia organized the Pacific Exposition as part of its commitment to engage with Pacific nations through trade and investment. (JP/Dian Septiari)
G
eographical and cultural proximity play an important role in engaging Pacific island nations but the Indonesian government still needs to show commitment in delivering its promise to develop the region, leaders from the country's eastern provinces have said.
Indonesia invited representatives from local administrations in five eastern provinces with a mostly Melanesian population -- Papua, West Papua, Maluku, North Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) -- to take part in the Pacific Exposition event in Auckland, New Zealand over the weekend.
The gathering, which ended Sunday, aims to boost engagement with other Pacific island nations through trade and investment opportunities.
Some provinces had set up their own booths to showcase their cultural heritage. The NTT booth, for instance, provided instruction on the sasando -- a harp-like musical instrument made out of palm leaf that comes from Rote Island -- as well as various traditional tenun ikat fabrics.
NTT Deputy Governor Josef Nae Soi, who led the delegation from his province, said he had met with delegates from various Pacific island nations such as Samoa, Tonga, Niue, the Cook Islands and Vanuatu, and noted how South Pacific islanders considered the people of NTT as "old brothers" due to their cultural similarities.
"We have been pushing for this campaign for very long because the largest Melanesian or Polynesian population [in Indonesia] comes from NTT. Out of the five [eastern] provinces, we have the largest [Melanesian] population at 5.4 million people,” Josef told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Indonesia's interest in the region has emerged against the backdrop of efforts to protect its territorial integrity and sovereignty from separatists backed by a handful of activists and Pacific nations, which in the past have called on the United Nations to investigate human rights abuses in Papua and West Papua.
