Jakarta. Indonesia announced Monday that it would send 10,000 tons of rice to Palestine while also dedicating parts of its agricultural land to grow the food crop.

Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman symbolically handed over the aid to his Palestinian counterpart, Rezq Basheer-Salimia, in Jakarta. Shortly after the bilateral talks, Andi Amran said that the freshly announced aid reflected Indonesia’s solidarity with Palestinians.

“We hope that Palestine can soon have its independence. Indonesia supports Palestine’s food supply,” Amran was quoted as saying in a press statement.

It is up to the Palestinian Embassy in Indonesia to decide when the rice will make its way to Palestine, according to Amran. 

The government has floated a plan to set up a joint agricultural investment zone spanning between 10,000 and 15,000 hectares across Indonesia. Virtually all the food crops grown in this so-called “Palestine-Indonesia Solidarity Investment Zone" -- which will lie in South Sumatra -- will go to Palestine.

News agency Antara reported that the zone could reach up to 20,000 hectares with Kalimantan included. This agricultural project will have an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons of rice. It will also produce other key horticultural commodities such as tomatoes, cucumber, and garlic.

The partnership will also include technology and resource collaboration, thus enabling Jakarta to receive knowledge transfer in the fields of irrigation and horticultural development.

Both countries also inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding an agricultural partnership that will also touch on capacity building in the seed industry, biotechnology, agribusiness, and food reserves, among others.

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