Jakarta (ANTARA) - Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Bambang Soesatyo has expressed the hope that the 2nd Indonesia-Pacific Parliamentary Partnership (IPPP) session will strengthen inter-parliamentary cooperation among countries in the Pacific region.He described the IPPP meeting, which is being held from July 24–26, 2024 in Jakarta, as very important since Indonesia is an inseparable part of the Pacific community, both in terms of identity and geographical similarity.
"(The cooperation is vital) To further strengthen parliamentary diplomacy in the Pacific region, especially in various priority sectors such as economy, trade, investment, maritime, and regional connectivity of land and sea," Soesatyo said after attending the IPPP session here on Thursday.
It is the second year that the House of Representatives (DPR) is holding the IPPP after 2018. IPPP implementation was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Soesatyo highlighted that the 2nd IPPP session has been joined by parliamentary leaders and members from 12 countries, one territory, and one international organization.
Divided into three sessions, the meeting's focus is on regional connectivity cooperation, improvement of people-to-people relations, and maritime potential to support sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The session has also discussed efforts to strengthen the role of women and youth and friendship and intercultural cooperation.
This year's IPPP also included a dialogue with the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) members consisting of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji.
"This dialogue with MSG is instrumental, considering that several provinces in Indonesia's eastern region are included in the Pacific region and are also part of the Melanesian group, namely East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, North Maluku, and six provinces of Papua," the MPR speaker said.
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He added that Pacific region countries are united because of their geographical condition, natural resources, diversity in human resources, and common challenges.
"Indonesia's existence among Pacific countries, especially in coastal community development, is not to be doubted. Likewise, the DPR's participation in building partnerships with Pacific region countries in international forums (is also imminent)," he said.