Social Minister Ready to Assist Fishermen Village Development in West Nusa Tenggara

Mataram — Indonesia’s Social Minister Saifullah Yusuf has pledged his readiness to assist the West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Government in developing fishermen villages in the region.

This commitment emerged during a meeting between NTB Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal and Social Minister Saifullah Yusuf in Jakarta on Monday.

According to the minister, the programme will involve various stakeholders, including Baznas (the national zakat agency) and private sector corporate social responsibility support, enabling fishing communities who have long been vulnerable to tidal flooding and coastal erosion to be relocated to more adequate and secure settlements.

“For NTB I am very enthusiastic. I want NTB to become a model for integrated poverty and social issue management,” the minister said.

The Social Minister welcomed the development approach undertaken by the NTB Provincial Government. He further expressed his commitment to participate in NTB’s Provincial Development Planning Consultation (Musrenbang) for 2026.

“The Ministry of Social Affairs will even make NTB one of the national models for integrated poverty and social issue management,” the minister stated.

Additionally, the ministry will conduct a charitable cataract surgery programme for 500 NTB residents, with approximately 350 patients allocated to Lombok Island and 150 to Sumbawa Island.

Meanwhile, NTB Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal expressed the provincial government’s full readiness to collaborate with the Ministry of Social Affairs in implementing various poverty management and social protection programmes.

“Whatever programme the Ministry of Social Affairs aims to improve public welfare, NTB is ready to be part of the solution,” Iqbal said.

The meeting marked a strengthening of collaboration between the central and regional governments in accelerating the management of extreme poverty and building a more integrated social protection system in NTB.

During the meeting, the NTB Governor was accompanied by the Head of NTB’s Communication and Information Technology Office Ahsanul Khalik and Head of NTB’s Regional Development Planning Agency Baiq Nelly Yuniarti. The Social Minister, commonly known as Gus Men, was accompanied by the Director General of Social Rehabilitation Supono, the Director General of Social Empowerment Mira Riyati Kurniasih, and the Director of Community Empowerment Adrianus Alla.