In a statement received on Sunday, he appreciated Citilink Indonesia, the central government, Bali government, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) for the opening of the flight route.
Along with President Director of Citilink Indonesia Dewa Kadek Rai and Head of Bali Tourism Office Tjok Bagus Pemayun, he launched the Bali-Papua New Guinea flight route at Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, on Sunday,
He said he is proud of the opening of the new international flight route because the efforts made by the Indonesian Parliament to strengthen bilateral cooperation with Papua New Guinea had generated results.
He noted that for the sake of opening this flight route, he built communication with those in PNG by prioritizing soft diplomacy through art and culture.
"This diplomacy is the one that will make the bilateral relations between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia get improved," he remarked.
Rudana hoped that the Bali-Papua New Guinea flight route would improve the bilateral relations between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, such as connectivity, economic, sociocultural, and defense and security relations, and most importantly, support the sovereignty of both nations.
In addition, he also hoped that the newly opened flight route would support Bali's efforts to achieve its international tourist arrival target for this year, namely 4.5 million.
He expressed optimism that the connectivity will boost the growth of the economic, tourism, and investment sectors.
Meanwhile, Rai explained that Citilink's Bali-Papua New Guinea flight would be carried out twice a week, namely every Sunday and Thursday, by using an Airbus 320 aircraft with a capacity of 180 seats.
He said supports from all parties are needed to enable the number of Bali-Papua New Guinea flights to increase. This condition would help promote Indonesia-PNG's relations.
"The flight to Papua New Guinea is historic, and this is the first flight to build connectivity between Indonesia and our neighboring country, Papua New Guinea," he said.
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Translator: Fath Putra, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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