KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 — The government will direct AirAsia to resume flights to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, following a request from the republic, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
He said this was among measures to improve transport connectivity which were discussed with his Indonesian counterpart Budi Karya Sumadi during his official visit at Parliament building here today.
Loke said in return, the government had asked the republic to help Malaysian airlines restore flights to other destinations in Indonesia which had been stopped following the closure of international borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the four-eyed meeting also discussed the possibility of starting the roll on-roll off (RO-RO) ferry service between Dumai, Sumatera and Melaka, which had been discussed in the technical aspect earlier.
“We hope that by 2024 there will be a RO-RO service ferrying vehicles between the two countries,” he said at a joint press conference at the Parliament lobby.
Meanwhile, Budi said cooperation in the transport sector was in line with Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s order to strengthen economic cooperation between Malaysia and Indonesia, as was discussed during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s official visit to Jakarta last month.
“The president ordered us to further improve economic relations and links between Malaysia and Indonesia. Ties between our two countries have economic values and are reciprocal in nature,” he added. — Bernama
