Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia and Indonesia have ample scope to expand bilateral trade beyond the 114 billion RM (28 billion USD) recorded last year by fostering trade facilitation and improving cross-border goods movement, reported the local media.
Malaysian Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said improved trade facilitation could substantially increase transaction volume, with the Border Trade Agreement playing an important role in facilitating economic activities.
"What is important is that we can actually double, triple, quadruple transaction volume if the two countries can strengthen trade facilitation," he told Malaysia's Bernama news agency after meeting his Indonesian counterpart Budi Santoso at the fourth Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Trade and Investment Committee (JTIC) meeting on September 3.
During a joint press statement with Budi following the meeting, Johari said the Border Trade Agreement was among the major areas discussed, alongside Indonesia's export policies, investment cooperation, standard requirements and halal cooperation. Technical teams from both countries are working on the issues, he said.
Both countries are also moving closer to reopening trade through the Tebedu - Entikong border route, with the remaining administrative matters expected to be handled soon./.
Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore reaffirm commitment to safeguarding key straits
At the 17th Cooperation Forum held in Singapore on August 25, the three nations affirmed the status of the SOMS as straits used for international navigation – where the right of transit applies, as enshrined in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and reflected in customary international law.
