Indonesia-Malaysia Agree to Enhance Palm Oil and Rubber Cooperation

VIVA – Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto held a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz on the sidelines of the 42nd ASEAN Summit on Wednesday in Labuan Bajo to discuss bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia, especially in the commodity sector such as palm oil and rubber.

"At this meeting, the two Ministers agreed to support each other in policies and negotiations concerning the export of palm oil commodities and their derivatives, as well as increasing cooperation within the CPOPC framework," Minister Hartarto explained.

During the meeting, the Coordinating Minister Airlangga also discussed the possibility and strategy for expanding membership of the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) shortly.

Previously, the Coordinating Minister Airlangga met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Plantations and Commodities of Malaysia YAB Dato' Sri Haji Fadillah bin Haji Yusof in February 2023 to discuss cooperation to overcome discrimination against palm oil. 

Minister Hartarto explained that in the first quarter of 2023, Indonesia's economic growth was 5.03 percent year on year (yoy). In this case, the agricultural sector grew by 4.73 percent yoy.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries sector contributed 0.04 percent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. The performance of this sector is indicated by the achievement of an export value of US$1.09 million and contributed 1.62 percent to total exports during the first quarter of 2023.

"Efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation continue to be made by Indonesia to boost exports and support the national economy," he remarked.