Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) appointed state-owned electricity company PT PLN to officially supply the electricity network in the Wutung border area, Papua New Guinea (PNG), to support local community activities.

Jokowi conveyed this while receiving the official state visit of PNG Prime Minister (PM) James Marape at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, on Monday.

"Related to the construction of the electricity network by PLN on the Skouw-Wutung border, I inform that this collaboration has started today, and electricity has been running in Wutung this Monday," he noted in a joint press statement with PM Marape.

PM Marape also commended the Indonesian government for the provision of electricity power for Wutung City, PNG.

"I hope we can utilize electricity power from Jayapura in the future from various hydro potentials in PNG and geothermal potential," he stated.

He also hopes for the utilization of environmentally friendly electrical energy from potential hydro plants in PNG to realize economic activity in Indonesia derived from clean energy.

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PT PLN is collaborating with PNG electricity company PNG Power to supply electricity to Wutung, a village on the border with Papua.

This collaboration is a follow-up to Jokowi's bilateral visit to PNG on July 5, 2023.

Using the transmission and distribution network in the Skouw area, Jayapura, PLN supplies additional electricity to meet the needs in Wutung.

The meeting between the two parties also resulted in four cooperation agreements on land borders for passenger and goods transportation, health sector, and educational sector for training and capacity building for teaching staff and scholarships for students.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan; Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi; State Secretariat Minister Pratikno; Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim; and Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi also accompanied President Jokowi to welcome PM Marape and the entourage.

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