PORTALJABAR, GARUT REGENCY - The Garut Regency Government received the complete documents for the Geographical Indication (IG) Certificate for Garut Vetiver Oil from the West Java Regional Office of the Ministry of Law.

The handover of the documents took place in the Meeting Room of the Deputy Regent of Garut, Jalan Pembangunan, Tarogong Kidul, Thursday (17/9/2026).

Margiyanto, Assistant for General Administration of the Garut Regency Regional Secretariat, said that this achievement is an important momentum in strengthening the region's competitiveness at the national and international levels.

"This is certainly an honor for us, the Garut Regency Government, both in carrying out our duties, and at the same time, this is an important, historic moment for Garut Regency when today the West Java Regional Office of the Ministry of Law will hand over certificates related to geographical indications for vetiver products in the form of oil, or Java vetiver oil," he said.

Margiyanto emphasized that the geographical indication document provides legal protection for Garut's superior products from potential unilateral claims by other parties or regions.

"And this is certainly once again, in the context of regional competitiveness, when we obtain this geographical indication document, it becomes very important. This should be a source of pride for all of us," he continued.

According to him, geographical indications are not merely formal documents, but a form of legal recognition of the authentic quality of a regional product that can increase economic added value.

"We may not be able to see the immediate impact today, but in the long term, I'm confident that when we receive the geographical indication document related to vetiver, the future impact will be extraordinary," he stressed.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Legal Services Division of the Indonesian Ministry of Law, Hemawati BR Pandia, appreciated the Garut Regency Government and the Garut Fragrant Root Geographical Indication Management Community (MPIG) who have been fighting for registration since 2018.

"Well, the indication of a region's superior product, when registered as a geographical indication, receives recognition as a superior product of a region, especially recognition as a superior region of Garut, which brings a good name at the national level and Indonesia internationally," he said.

Hemawati explained that her party was still waiting for the completeness of the MPIG Management Decree (SK) and the recommendation letter for superior products from the Regent of Garut.

Once the documents are complete, the official certificate printing process will continue.

He hopes that the synergy between farmers, MPIG, and the Garut Regional Government can improve the community's economy regionally and globally.

This collaboration is also expected to open up opportunities for registration of other superior regional products in Garut Regency.

"Hopefully, in the future, we will truly make a positive contribution to increasing economic value through Garut vetiver in the Garut government, and in the future, there will still be other superior products such as Sukaregang Leather, there is also Batik," he concluded.

(Garut Regency Communications and Information Service/bhf)