Jerusalem, 29 August, 2022 (TPS) — The next governor of the province of Papua in Indonesia Samuel Tabuni visited Samaria on Sunday while seeking cooperation between Israel and Indonesia.
Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, hosted Tabuni, who is expected to be appointed to the position of governor in a year and a half and has already started meetings for future collaborations, including with Samaria.
The Province of Papua administers an independent autonomy within Muslim Indonesia.
Tabuni’s tour began in the community of Peduel, a peak where he viewed Israel’s entire coastal plain, and received an explanation of its strategic importance. Tabuni also toured the Three Seas observation point, the highest peak in the Gideon Ridge in Samaria, from where one can view the Mediterranean Sea, the Kinneret (Sea of ??Galilee), and the Dead Sea. From there they continued to visit Mount Gerizim, a visit to the Kabir winery in Elon Moreh, as well as the Barkan industrial area.
Tabuni stated that “first of all, I want to express my joy for the blessing that this country has, and especially for this region, Judea and Samaria. Second, I want to thank the head of the council for inviting me to this meeting today, the meeting was good for future cooperation between people and between countries, between the people in Indonesia and Israel.”
He expressed hope that in the future there will be cooperation between Judea and Samaria and Indonesia. “I believe that this meeting today is not over, it will continue in the future,” he said.
Dagan expressed confidence that the two parties will “find more ways to create cooperation between Indonesia and Israel. I believe that peace is between people and not between countries. I am sure that you and I will find more ways for cooperation through the economy, and between the people.”
“We see new connections and new ways that connect Samaria with countries and regions of the world that were not expected, some of them even pass the level of the governments. This was the case in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and other places, where companies from Samaria were the first companies to sign export agreements with companies in these countries,” he noted.
“We will also have other places that are going to come out soon where there will be direct export from Samaria. This is the strongest blow to BDS and the strongest blow to all the hypocrites from the European Union and the extreme left here in Israel, who are trying to create division and damage,” he said.