Jakarta, Nov 12 (IANS): The number of Indonesia's provinces increased from 34 to 37 as three new autonomous regions were inaugurated.
"Today, I, as Home Affairs Minister, on behalf of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, inaugurate the provinces of South Papua, Central Papua, and Highland Papua," said Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian at the inauguration ceremony in Jakarta on Friday.
The three regions were previously part of Papua province. Now the three regions together with Papua and West Papua are the five provinces occupying the Indonesian half of the New Guinea island, Xinhua news agency reported.
The legislation for establishing the three new provinces was ratified by the parliament at the end of June.
At the inauguration, Karnavian appointed three interim officials to govern the provinces until elections are held in 2024.