JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo met his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape in Port Moresby on Wednesday, the latest leader to visit the island nation as major powers compete for influence in the strategically-located region.
Widodo’s one-day visit, where a border agreement and trade are expected to be the focus of talks, comes after India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. Secretary of States Antony Blinken met a dozen Pacific island leaders in Port Moresby in May.
PNG, which counts China as a major trading partner, signed a defence cooperation agreement with the U.S. during the Blinken visit. The deal allows U.S. military access to PNG ports and airports.
A resource-rich but largely undeveloped nation of 9 million, PNG shares a 760 kms (472 miles) border with Indonesia. Diplomatic relations have been complicated by the separatist ambitions of Melanesian groups on the Indonesian side of Papua, which was absorbed by Indonesia after a 1969 vote.
A basic border agreement with Indonesia, which had been stalled for 10 years by PNG’s parliament, was ratified in March.
Marape has said he is seeking to boost business ties and air travel between the two nations.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney and Ananda Teresia in Jakarta; Editing by Michael Perry)
