Following the signing of contracts during Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s visit to Malaysia with his entourage, Malaysia and Indonesia extended their cooperation in commerce, investment, and the halal industry.
Malaysian Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and his Indonesian counterpart Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan signed a border trade pact and a memorandum of understanding on investment promotion collaboration at the Seri Perdana Complex.
President Joko Widodo arrived in Malaysia on Wednesday for a two-day working visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, with the goal of deepening the two economies’ long-standing and strong connections.
Hakimah Mohd Yusoff, Director-General of Malaysia’s Islamic Development Department (Jakim), and Dr. Muhammad Aqil Irham, Director of Indonesia’s Halal Product Assurance Agency, signed an agreement on mutual recognition of halal certification for halal goods.
Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Malaysian Home Minister, and Tito Karnavian, Indonesian Home Affairs Minister, signed a border crossing agreement.
In 2022, Indonesia was Malaysia’s sixth-largest commercial partner and the second-largest among ASEAN member states, with total commerce of RM130.14 billion (US$29.55 billion). This marks a 36.5 percent growth over the previous year’s RM95.31 billion (US$22.98 billion).
On Thursday, June 8, 2023, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met at the Malaysian Prime Minister’s official house in Seri Perdana, Putrajaya, Malaysia, to discuss bilateral cooperation in a variety of sectors. One of these is the process of negotiating territorial sea limits, which took approximately 18 years to finish successfully.
Following the meeting, Indonesia’s President applauded the successful conclusion of territorial sea border negotiations in the Sulawesi Sea and the southern Malacca Strait, and thanked God and Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim in a joint press release.
Prime Minister Anwar and President Jokowi also discussed the protection of Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) during the meeting. President Jokowi complimented Prime Minister Anwar for his commitment to enhancing migrant worker protection and guaranteeing fair law enforcement for Indonesian employees.
Mr. Anwar and Mr. Jokowi agreed to form a special bilateral agreement to address the challenges that Indonesian migrant workers face. He went on to state that he wants the Peninsula Community Learning Centre to be built soon away, that Indonesians at the Immigration Depot be deported right away, and that the one-channel system be upgraded.
Finally, the president urged more collaboration to address discrimination in palm oil and other commodities. The President thanks the Indonesia-Malaysia joint delegation to Brussels.
