Indonesia, Timor-Leste to benefit from Green New Deal

More than 20,000 people in rural areas of Indonesia and Timor-Leste will have access to electricity and water thanks to a clean energy project run by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

KOICA, a foreign aid arm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said last week it launched the project worth $18 million under the Moon Jae-in administration’s Green New Deal initiative.

The project, titled, Accelerating Clean Energy Access to Reduce Inequality (ACCESS), uses solar energy to supply electricity and water to 23 villages in the Indonesian provinces of West Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara and Central Kalimantan and 25 villages in Dili, Manatuto and Bobonaro — municipalities in Timor-Leste.

KOICA started the project on Sept. 10, in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia, the Ministry of State Administration of the Republic of Timor-Leste and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) branch office in each of the two countries.

“KOICA stands ready to work for the ACCESS partnership, committed to ensuring access to clean energy and tackling the issue of energy inequality,” Jeong Hoe-jin, KOICA country director in Indonesia said.

Jeong also said the projects are expected to “make progress” in accordance with South-South and triangular cooperation (SSTC) — a broad framework for promoting and supporting collaboration among developing countries.
Kim Sik-hyun, KOICA country director in Timor-Leste, called ACCESS “a meaningful and timely project.”

Kim said, “Internationally, this project shall be a small stepping stone to heal the history of the past and to enhance the friendly relations between two countries through the SSTC between Timor-Leste and Indonesia.”

“I hope this could be a catalyst for Timor-Leste’s long-cherished wish to join ASEAN,” he added.

Source : koreatimes