REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TIMIKA -- The government will set up an institution tasked with accelerating natural resource-based development efforts in Papua to speed up the region's economic development, said minister Sudirman Said here on Sunday.

"The institution will later act as a liaison between the central and regional governments as well as businesses in Papua," the minister of energy and mineral resources said.

He said the move was taken to follow up on Presidential Decree Number 16 of 2015 regarding a study team on the policy of natural resources' management for economic development of Papua.

Minister Sudirman made the statement after meeting with local leaders along with the minister of national development planning/head of National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) as head of the team, Sofyan Djalil.

He said it is hoped the institution will ease coordination of development efforts in Papua while planning could also be done with more synergy together.

This institution will later be the partner of regional governments and businesses in communicating plans and business opportunities that have and will be taken, he added.

The minister explained a legal umbrella would be sought for the setting up of the institution and a scope of work would also be determined to avoid overlapping with other institutions.

In the framework of accelerating economic development in Papua, the government has considered that a natural resource-based development policy is needed.

Based on the idea President Joko Widodo on May 21, 2015 signed Presidential Decree Number 16, 2015.

The secretariat of the office is led by deputy for political, legal and security affairs of the ministry of national development planning/Bappenas and director general of minerals and coal of the ministry of energy and mineral resources.

"The team is tasked with evaluating and studying policies on natural resource management in Papua in the framework of economic development in Papua," the president decree states.

The evaluation is done based on the synergy of the policies of the central and regional governments.

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