The minister conveyed this while receiving a visit from journalists during an event themed "Peaceful Journalism: Preserving Friendship, Developing the Nation" held at his office in Jakarta on Monday. The Kominfo Ministry will facilitate the journalists to visit Papua.
"I want you to prioritize covering Papua's success stories that can inspire Indonesia," he told the journalists.
On the occasion, Setiadi underscored that developing Papua is not an easy task and requires support and active participation from local residents.
"Many factors have been hindering development efforts in Papua. For instance, we have seen the disappearance of a vessel that carried building materials for Kominfo's 4G BTS (base transceiver station) project in Papua two weeks ago," he stated.
To this end, he remarked that the Indonesian government is targeting to build as many as 678 new BTS, with around 500 of them having been successfully erected.
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The minister highlighted the need for a special approach to successfully bring the BTS project to the Papua region.
"With that in mind, I hope media colleagues can motivate (people). In order to actualize the Golden Indonesia vision, we must ensure that no region is left behind. People in regions hold the key to Indonesia's progress," he told the journalists.
Setiadi also expressed hope that the establishment of four new provinces in Papua in 2022 would help the government raise the living standards of people residing in Indonesia's easternmost region.
Earlier, Indonesia's Papua region consisted of two provinces, namely Papua and West Papua. The number increased to six with the addition of the provinces of Central Papua, South Papua, Highland Papua, and Southwest Papua.
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Translator: Agus S, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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