JAKARTA, June 3 — Malaysia and Indonesia will prioritise efforts to strengthen economic cooperation and safeguard supply chain resilience amid mounting global disruptions when they meet for the 17th Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in Jakarta tomorrow.
The Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan will lead the Malaysian delegation to the meeting, which will be co-chaired by his Indonesian counterpart Sugiono.
The 17th JCBC will be a follow-up to the 13th Annual Consultation between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on July 29 last year, and will set the direction for the 14th Annual Consultation to be hosted by Malaysia later this year.
“The 17th JCBC will give priority attention to deepening Malaysia-Indonesia economic cooperation to safeguard the resilience of both economies.
“Malaysia will steer the discussion towards concrete measures by which the two countries can work together to mitigate external shocks affecting trade flows, energy security, food supplies, and critical inputs to industry,” it said in a statement today.
Reflecting the importance both countries place on addressing these challenges through bilateral cooperation, Wisma Putra said the agenda will focus on trade and investment facilitation, strengthening cross-border supply chains, energy cooperation, and food security.
Other areas expected to be discussed include maritime boundary delimitation and land boundary demarcation, border crossings, and cross-border trade, cooperation in the halal industry, defence and security, environmental and disaster management, and other matters of mutual interest.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's chargé d'affaires ad interim in Jakarta Farzamie Sarkawi told the media that Mohamad is scheduled to arrive in Jakarta this afternoon.
The foreign ministers of both countries are expected to hold the ministerial meeting tomorrow, followed by a joint media conference and an official luncheon hosted by Sugiono.
The Senior Officials' Meeting, co-chaired by Wisma Putra secretary-general Tan Sri Amran Mohamed Zin and the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's Asia-Pacific and African Affairs director-general Abdul Kadir Jailani, was held today to finalise the agenda and documents for the ministerial meeting.
He said the JCBC would provide an opportunity for both countries to accelerate ongoing discussions and explore new areas of cooperation ahead of the 14th Annual Consultation between Anwar and Prabowo.
Several memoranda of understanding and cooperative initiatives involving agencies from both countries remain under discussion, and the meeting is expected to help expedite negotiations and produce outcomes that can be elevated to the leaders' level.
