Jayapura – Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, took part in a parliamentary dialogue event with countries from the Melanesian family who are members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) organization. In this dialogue, Puan touched on the development of Papua which borders directly with Pacific countries.
The MSG dialogue event was held on the sidelines of the 2nd Session of the Indonesia-Pacific Parliamentary Partnership (IPPP) held by the DPR at the Fairmont Jakarta, Thursday (25/7/2024). The Indonesian parliamentary forum event with Pacific countries was initiated by the DPR.
“It is an honor for me to be able to meet specifically with a spirit of brotherhood and solidarity,” said Puan at the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Parliamentary Dialogue Retreat Meeting.
The MSG parliamentary dialogue was attended by leaders and members of parliament from Melanesian countries who took part in the 2nd Session of the IPPP. They are the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Fiji, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, the Speaker of the Solomon Islands Parliament, John Patteson Oti, Member of Parliament for Papua New Guinea (PNG) Johnson Wapunai, and the Director General of MSG who is a figure from PNG, Leonard Louma.
Meanwhile, Puan was accompanied by Deputy Speaker of the DPR Lodewijk F Paulus and Chair of the DPR RI Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP) Fadli Zon at this event. The MSG parliamentary dialogue was also attended by the Chair of the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Atnike Nova Sigiro and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu).
The Indonesian Government itself has joined as an MSG Associate Member considering that there are several provinces in the eastern region of Indonesia that are included in the Pacific region and there are also Melanesian groups, namely Maluku, North Maluku, NTT, and 6 provinces in Papua. Puan said that this meeting had an important meaning for strengthening Indonesia’s cooperation with MSG countries.
“This meeting reflects Indonesia’s brotherhood with countries in the Pacific region. “This meeting will also provide a positive nuance for the ongoing success of the Indonesia-Pacific Parliamentary Partnership (IPPP),” he said.
Puan said that Indonesia has strong identity roots as part of the Melanesian nation, and is an inseparable part of the MSG. The Government’s participation as an Associate Member is said to confirm Indonesia’s commitment to continue to support MSG’s vision and progress in the Asia-Pacific.
