PNG wants ties with Jayapura

JAKARTA (JP): The Port Moresby administration has proposed a sister-city arrangement with Jayapura, Irian Jaya, to promote trade and business ties.

The governor of Papua New Guinea's capital, Philip Taku, said on Thursday he drafted a memorandum of understanding to establish the relationship and requested that Irian Jaya's governor Freddy Numberi sign the draft.

"A sister-city relationship would provide a lot of opportunities to help each other and exchange ideas, technical assistance and form a business relationship," Taku told The Jakarta Post during his visit to Irian Jaya's provincial capital.

Numberi said he would consult with the central government on the proposal.

"Perhaps we will begin with a letter of intent prior to the memorandum of understanding," he said.

Taku visited Jayapura at the invitation of Numberi in conjunction with Indonesia's Independence Day on Aug. 17.

Numberi visited Port Moresby last year. (34)