The provincial governments of Lampung and Bali have reinforced their regional cooperation in several sectors, particularly food, livestock, and tourism. This collaboration was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Monday, November 6, 2023, in Kuta, Badung Regency. Lampung Governor, Arinal Djunaidi, explained that the partnership between the two regions is rooted in a long-established historical connection between Lampung and Bali. Currently, nearly one million Lampung residents are of Balinese descent, who migrated to Lampung in the past to cultivate land. From Bali, Lampung aims to adopt the quality of service and hospitality found in Bali's tourism sector. According to Arinal, as Lampung is currently developing sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism, it must learn from Bali's extensive experience in hospitality. In the food sector, Arinal mentioned that Lampung is a region that produces various foods, including rice, coffee, cassava, sugarcane, and corn. Lampung's rice production reaches 3.3 million tons, while the local demand is only 1.1 million tons, allowing Lampung to send 2 million tons of rice to regions in need. Additionally, Lampung produces 6.7 million tons of cassava, 184,000 tons of sugarcane, 3.28 million tons of corn, 878,649 head of cattle, and 118,000 tons of coffee.
Arinal pointed out that even though Lampung is a food-producing region, many of these food products are sent to other regions in their raw form, as the downstream processing of products has not been optimally realized. Through this collaboration, Arinal is inviting investors from Bali to invest in food processing industries, so the finished products can be marketed in Bali and exported abroad from Bali. Meanwhile, the Acting Governor of Bali, Sang Made Mahendra Jaya, explained that regional cooperation is essential in the face of global uncertainties, such as the El-Nino effect, which disrupts global food supplies, leading some countries to halt food exports. The collaboration between Lampung and Bali ensures a partnership in the development of each region's key sectors and secures food availability. The Head of the Bank Indonesia Representative Office for Lampung, Budiyono, explained that the cooperation between Lampung and Bali in the tourism sector aims to attract tourism investors to Lampung. "Lampung has untapped tourism potential that can be developed in collaboration with Bali and meetings will be held with the Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) and tourism stakeholders from Bali to actualize this cooperation," Budiyono explained.
