Malaysia, Indonesia advance border talks ahead of annual leaders' consultation

Malaysia and Indonesia have made progress on several longstanding land and maritime border issues, which are expected to be brought to the Malaysia-Indonesia Annual Consultation for further discussion.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hassan said the matter was among the outcomes of the 17th Meeting of the Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), which he co-chaired with his Indonesian counterpart, Sugiono, in Jakarta on Thursday.

“There are also several longstanding land and maritime border issues which, in my view, are now at the final stage and can be brought forward for discussion and agreement by the two leaders during the annual consultation,” he told a joint press conference after the meeting.

Mohamad (above) said the 17th JCBC had, overall, reached agreements that would further strengthen existing ties between Malaysia and Indonesia.

He said relations between the two countries were currently at an excellent level, with only a few outstanding issues still requiring attention.

“I would say relations between Malaysia and Indonesia are now 98 percent good. The remaining two percent consists of issues and unresolved matters that we need to address,” he said.

Mohamad also said the welfare and access to education of Indonesian citizens living and working in Malaysia were discussed during the meeting.

“For us, the right to education is a human right under international conventions,” he said.

In addition, he said Indonesia had proposed expanding employment opportunities for its citizens in Malaysia to other sectors facing labour shortages, particularly the caregiving sector.

“We will discuss the matter at the appropriate level because it falls outside the Foreign Ministry’s jurisdiction and comes under the Health Ministry. However, I am confident that it is a good proposal and would also benefit Malaysia’s healthcare industry as a whole,” he said.

The Malaysia-Indonesia Annual Consultation between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is expected to be held between August and the end of this year.

- Bernama

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