Banda Aceh (ANTARA) - The municipal government of Banda Aceh received a visit from New Zealand’s Deputy Head of Mission to Indonesia, Dr Giselle Larcombe, to explore cooperation in education and women’s economic empowerment.

“We discussed political, social, and economic developments in Aceh 20 years after the Helsinki peace memorandum of understanding (MoU), while also looking into opportunities for bilateral cooperation in various fields,” Banda Aceh Deputy Mayor Afdhal Khalilullah said in Banda Aceh on Tuesday.

The meeting, held at the Banda Aceh Town Hall, coincided with the two-decade milestone of peace in Aceh. “It has been a long journey from conflict to the peace we enjoy today. Banda Aceh also stands as a symbol of recovery after the 2004 tsunami,” Afdhal said.

He emphasized that political and security transformation following the 2005 Helsinki MoU had created stability that paved the way for development in Aceh, particularly in Banda Aceh.

In his presentation, Afdhal noted that the city has a population of about 270 thousand people, mostly of productive age, and recorded an economic growth rate of 6.08 percent last year.

“This growth is supported by more than 34 thousand micro, small, and medium enterprises, the creative economy sector, and over 77 tourism sites,” he added.

For her part, Deputy Ambassador Larcombe underlined that her visit aimed to see firsthand Aceh’s progress two decades after peace.

She said New Zealand is interested in partnerships in several sectors, including women’s economic empowerment, renewable energy, agriculture, and postgraduate scholarship programs for Acehnese communities, including for the development of civil servants.

“We are grateful to be here and are eager to visit the cultural sites. We want to see how social and economic development functions on the ground,” Larcombe remarked.

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