RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Minister of Transmigration, M. Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara, will accompany Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Wang Lutong on a working visit to several strategic transmigration areas across the country.

Minister Iftitah said the visit is a concrete step to showcase the potential of transmigration areas to international partners. He added that it also opens opportunities for collaboration to accelerate regional development and improve community welfare.

The visit will cover South Papua, Southwest Papua, North Maluku, and East Nusa Tenggara as part of efforts to explore cooperation between Indonesia and China.

This cooperation spans food security, poverty alleviation, vocational education, trade, investment, and tourism development. Minister Iftitah emphasized that all collaboration opportunities explored during the visit must deliver tangible benefits to local communities.

“Transmigration areas possess land, human resources, and immense economic potential. We are building them not merely as residential areas, but as new economic growth centers capable of creating jobs, increasing productivity, and strengthening community welfare,” he said in a written statement in Jakarta on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.

The first agenda will be held at the Salor Transmigration Area in Merauke Regency, South Papua, which serves as a national food production center. It features more than 40,000 hectares of rice fields that play a vital role in supporting the national food self-sufficiency program.

In addition to inspecting agricultural areas, the delegation will also visit the town center of Salor, which has developed into an important part of the capital of South Papua Province.

During the visit, both parties will inspect sites planned as hubs for regional development cooperation. Collaboration will be carried out through grants from the Chinese Government, including the construction of a Rice Development and Research Center.

Further cooperation includes the construction of an Agricultural Vocational School and a Poverty Alleviation Center. These initiatives are expected to serve as models for development based on productivity and community welfare.

The delegation will then visit the Raja Ampat transmigration area in Southwest Papua to assess regional economic potential and explore opportunities for collaboration to promote Raja Ampat tourism among Chinese tourists.

In North Halmahera, North Maluku, the group will inspect a transmigration area with significant potential for coconut commodity development. This inspection could open opportunities for cooperation to strengthen downstream processing in the coconut industry and expand export access for community products.

The working visit will continue to West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, as part of efforts to introduce and promote Labuan Bajo to the Chinese public as one of Indonesia’s premier tourism destinations.

“Any incoming investment must create direct benefits for the people. It must generate employment, upgrade skills, and expand market access. It must boost productivity and ultimately enhance welfare in both transmigration areas and surrounding local communities,” Minister Iftitah said.

He added that the government’s current transmigration transformation is oriented toward building productive regional areas that are competitive and connected to both national and global markets.

This working visit is expected to strengthen cooperation between Indonesia and China in developing transmigration areas, transforming them into new hubs for economic growth, food production, flagship commodity development, and poverty alleviation. (Diva Rifdah)