Papua New Guinea (PNG) has entered into two more agreements with Indonesia, officially signing both in Jayapura, the Papuan capital of Indonesia. According to Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tkatchenko, the two agreements, signed on Wednesday, May 8th between him and the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Retno Masurdi, are a Framework Agreement on Development and Technical Cooperation, and an Agreement for Training and Capacity Building for mid-career diplomats from the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) countries. Both countries already have agreements and corporations in development partnerships and issues of mutual interest, especially the shared border. This includes Indonesia’s grant assistance of K60 million for the Port Moresby General Hospital Intensive Care Unit and Redevelopment of the Mortuary, and West Sepik Integrated Development Project that includes the Wutung Primary School classroom building project, which both Ministers visited on Thursday, May 9th, and the upgrade of Vanimo Fire Station and the Vanimo Waste Management system. Minister Tkatchenko also acknowledged the Defense Corporation Agreement, already ratified by both sides, and is currently progressing to ‘Enter into Force’. The DCA is critical to strengthen security amid the geopolitical dynamics in the region, according to Minister Masurdi, during the historic 4th Joint Ministerial Commission and 3rd Senior Officials Meeting from May 8-9 at Jayapura, which both ministers co-chaired. She reiterated that both countries are two neighbors, sharing a cross-border. To illustrate this, both Ministers then created history by walking across the Indonesian-PNG Border crossing on foot, crossing over from Indonesia to PNG from the Shouw Border Post, through the ‘no man’s land’ stretch, and onto PNG soil at the Wutung Border Post on foot. Minister Masurdi, who had returned to Indonesia a day earlier for the JMC, from the Organization of Islamic Corporation (OIC) Summit in Ghana, said it was an obvious reflection of Indonesia’s commitment to strengthened bilateral relations with PNG. “As an immediate neighbor, PNG is a natural partner for Indonesia.” “We share a vast land border of more than 800 kilometers.” “We share strong cultural ties.” “We also share a strong commitment to respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries.” “Most importantly, we share a commitment that our relations should bring benefit and bring prosperity for our two people, including people living at the border of our countries.”