Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions forged a partnership with community organization Barisan 8 Center to boost rural development, targeting the emergence of 5,000 export-oriented villages across Indonesia.Villages Minister Yandri Susanto described the cooperation as part of the government’s concrete steps to position rural communities as subjects, not mere objects, in development programs.“The government cannot work alone in developing villages; all elements need to play an active role,” he remarked after the signing of a memorandum of understanding formalizing the collaboration in Jakarta on Tuesday.He underscored the importance of institutions and organizations providing guidance to villages, enabling them to fully capitalize on their resources and potential in pursuit of growth and development.To that end, Susanto said the ministry aims to assist villages in growing into profitable export hubs, noting the initiative as part of the government’s 12 priority actions for rural development.He further cited Indonesia’s coffee, vanilla, candlenut, and palm sugar as highly valuable commodities with proven potential in international markets, suggesting rural regions to make the most of export opportunities.The ministry, he added, is determined to boost rural community empowerment initiatives to help villages strengthen self-reliance while ensuring adequate access to clean water, electricity, and telecommunication services.“Empowerment should go side by side with guidance. We seek to foster a perception that villages are epicenters of economic growth,” the minister said, stressing that national development largely hinges on growth in rural regions.Barisan 8 Center Chairman Andrio Caesario affirmed his team’s readiness to partner with the government in connecting village products with international markets.“We will help identify export markets and ensure supporting regulations, aiming to enhance the global competitiveness of rural products,” he said, highlighting plans to start with a pilot project focusing on Arabica coffee in West Java.He also pledged technological support to map village potential using a digital geotagging application.“Through this app, buyers from overseas can comprehensively learn about village potential. In this way, transactions become more transparent and efficient,” he explained.Furthermore, Caesario emphasized that collaborating with the Ministry of Villages aligns with President Prabowo Subianto’s directives to realize equitable development and welfare from the grassroots level.