PUTRAJAYA, June 8 — For the first time in history, both Malaysia and Indonesia are on the same page in the efforts to defend the oil palm commodity against the threat posed by the anti-oil palm campaign.
In a joint press conference with Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim congratulated Malaysia’s Plantation and Commodities Minister, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto for their joint efforts in protecting the interests of the palm oil sector.
Recently, Fadillah, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, and Airlangga led a joint mission under the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries’ (CPOPC) to the European Union (EU) to convey concerns and objections to the newly legislated EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
Anwar also shared Joko’s stance in international forums where the republic’s president emphasised that protecting the oil palm industry is crucial to safeguard the livelihood of millions of smallholders, and not just the corporates.
During the press conference, Joko also expressed his appreciation to the Malaysian government for the joint efforts in dealing with the discrimination against oil palm and other commodities.
“Such collaborations should be strengthened so that commodities produced by Malaysia and Indonesia would not face discrimination by other countries,” he said.
In a joint statement, both leaders emphasised the need for close cooperation to address the EUDR’s highly detrimental discriminatory measures against palm oil, stressing that the EU needs to promptly address such discriminatory measures and work towards a fair and equitable resolution.
Joko and his delegation are on a two-day working visit to Malaysia at the invitation of the Prime Minister starting yesterday, with the aim of further strengthening the long-established and close relationship between the two countries.
The two leaders held closed-door discussions and witnessed six exchanges of agreements regarding trade, investment promotion, halal and maritime solutions here today. — Bernama
