Jakarta (ANTARA) - The House of Representatives (DPR) Deputy Speaker Azis Syamsuddin urged the Indonesian government to relentlessly make all-out efforts to drive development in various sectors in the provinces of Papua and West Papua.

"The government has paid serious attention to Papua and West Papua. Those failing to understand should take a look at the ongoing substantial rise in development on the Land of Papua," he affirmed in a statement that ANTARA received here, Sunday.

Syamsuddin pointed to an improvement in the living conditions of people of both provinces while also appealing to intellectuals in Indonesia to help promote positive results of development programs in Papua and West Papua.

ANTARA noted that apart from the intensified developments in Papua and West Papua, the central government is still bogged down by the ongoing cycle of violence in Papua and rejection of the continuation of the government-granted special autonomy status for the provinces.

In order to tackle Papua-related matters, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has since the start given undivided emphasis to prosperity-oriented approaches, Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko pointed out.

Citing one example of such an approach, Moeldoko drew attention to various infrastructure construction projects in Papua and West Papua launched to place them at par with other provinces.

President Jokowi is focusing on boosting the economic sector of Papua and West Papua through, for instance, enforcing the one-fuel price policy as part of the efforts to ensure social justice for local people, he remarked.

The government has also remained focused on development of the health and education sectors in the two Indonesian provinces, he noted.

Moeldoko expressed belief that the second phase of special autonomy status granted for Papua and West Papua would instill a new spirit for expediting development to create prosperity in both provinces.

For a roadmap for the second phase of special autonomy, there has been in place Presidential Decision No. 20 of 2020 on an integrated coordinating team for expediting prosperity-oriented developments in Papua and West Papua, he pointed out.

The Presidential decision is aimed at creating a spirit, paradigm, and novel methods to manage accelerated development in Papua and West Papua, he noted.

The Presidential decision seeks to intensify synergistic collaborations among ministries, government agencies, and regional administrations to expedite development programs in the two provinces, Moeldoko stated.
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