Khofifah Jajaki "Sister Province" East Java-Samarkand Uzbekistan

SURABAYA - East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa is exploring sister province cooperation between East Java Province and Samarkand City, Uzbekistan, to strengthen bilateral relations in the fields of trade, education, culture, and community networking.

"Welcome to East Java, His Excellency Mr. Oybek. He expressed the hope that we could sign a sister province cooperation agreement between East Java and Samarkand," said Khofifah in a statement in Surabaya, Saturday, when receiving the Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Indonesia and ASEAN, Oybek Eshonov.

He explained that the East Java Provincial Government was undergoing administrative and licensing processes in accordance with the provisions through coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia.

After the stages are completed, the signing of the cooperation protocol is planned to be carried out before it is submitted for approval by the East Java Regional Representative Council (DPRD).

The plan is for the signing to coincide with the visit of the Governor of Samarkand to East Java on April 4-7.

Apart from economic and governance aspects, Khofifah emphasized that the relationship between East Java and Samarkand has historical and spiritual closeness.

"East Java and Samarkand have a close spiritual and religious relationship. From our pesantren, there are many religious visits to the tomb of Sheikh Imam Bukhari because they study Imam Bukhari's hadith a lot. Now, a group from Ploso Kediri Pesantren, led directly by Kiai Nurul Huda, is also in Samarkand," he said.

He added that one of the Wali Songo, Syekh Maulana Malik Ibrahim, who played a role in the spread of Islam in East Java, is believed to have come from Central Asia, including Samarkand.

"Not only that, the Wali Songo in East Java also came from Samarkand, namely Syekh Maulana Malik Ibrahim. So basically, we are also building the strength of spirituality from a cultural perspective in the relationship between Indonesia and Uzbekistan, especially East Java-Samarkand," continued Khofifah.

In terms of trade, the relationship between East Java and Uzbekistan shows a positive trend.

In the period January-October 2025, the value of East Java's non-oil and gas exports to Uzbekistan reached 9.36 million US dollars, an increase compared to the previous year, with a five-year average growth trend that is quite high.

The main commodities for export include vegetable fats and oils, processed food products, soaps and cleaning preparations, and paper and cardboard.

Meanwhile, the value of East Java imports from Uzbekistan was recorded at US$ 43.06 million, with the main commodities being fertilizers which contribute to the agricultural sector in East Java.

The Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Indonesia and ASEAN Oybek Eshonov expressed his appreciation for the welcome of the Governor of East Java Khofifah Indar Parawansa and his staff as well as the commitment to strengthen relations between the two regions.

"Thank you, Governor, for arranging this meeting. The Governor of Samarkand conveyed his greetings. We have discussed and talked about many things. Hopefully it can benefit both parties and hopefully strengthen our relationship," he said.