Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesia Economic and Trade Office (IETO) in Taipei signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Taipei Economic and Trade Office (TETO) in Jakarta on the recruitment, placement, and protection of Indonesian migrant workers in Taiwan.

IETO Chief Didi Sumedi signed the MoU with TETO Chief John C. Chen in the presence of Indonesian Manpower Minister M. Hanif Dhakiri and Taiwanese Manpower Minister Hsu Ming Chun in Taipei, Taiwan, on Friday.

With the signing of the MoU, the two sides agreed to promote bilateral collaboration and exchange in the fields of vocational training, skill development, work assistance, start-up for women, and capacity building for people with disabilities through the international organization platform or regional partnership mechanism.

Indonesian Manpower Minister Dhakiri remarked that the signing of the MoU served as a reference for both sides to improve the quality of Indonesian migrant workers employed in Taiwan to better protect them and increase their welfare.

"Cooperation between the Indonesian and Taiwanese governments could be strengthened to increase the protection and welfare of migrant workers employed abroad as well as to prevent the entry of unprocedural and undocumented illegal migrant workers," he stated.

Taiwan is the second-largest destination of Indonesian migrant workers after Malaysia. As of October 2018, a total of 60,408 Indonesian migrant workers were employed in various sectors in Taiwan, including domestic, manufacturing, and fishery.

Taiwanese Manpower Minister Hsu Ming Chun praised Indonesian migrant workers for their discipline and politeness.

"Indonesian workers have exhibited good conduct. They often won awards we gave to domestic workers. Almost all winners were from Indonesia," he noted.

In case of migrant worker-related problems, they would hopefully be settled through a bilateral mechanism, he affirmed.

"We are looking forward to maintaining good relations with Indonesia. Anyway, the cooperation we have built, so far, has contributed to the economic growth," he added.

Reporting by Aubrey Kandelila Fanani
Editing by Suharto

Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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