Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here on Saturday that the Netherlands could play a role in Papua by focusing on investment.

"You were asking what the Dutch can do in Papua. Cooperation in investment and trade can be a good avenue," Susilo said while responding to a question raised by the media.

"I am thinking from the national perspective how to solve Papua 's problems. We will promote these fields in the coming years," he added.

Earlier in the day he met Dutch Prime Minister Jan Pieter Balkenende at Merdeka Palace.

Susilo said the government's policy on Papua was very clear. It was to give special autonomy to the easternmost province.

The province was to receive a development budget of up to 1.4 billion US dollars this year, he said.

Meanwhile, Balkende reiterated his country's position which supported Indonesia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

"There's no doubt about it," he said.

Indonesia declared independence from Dutch rule on August 17, 1945 although the colonial power kept administering Papua until the late 1960s.

Some Papuans rejected Indonesia's rule and since then have organized a low-scale resistance movement in the mineral-rich province.

Source: Xinhua