An agreement to this effect was signed by Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo, and Minister of Agriculture and Water for the Northern Australian Territory, David Littleproud, at the ministry here on Thursday.
"More specifically, it is related to agricultural trade, which has been going well between Australia and Indonesia so far. So, the MoU that we have signed is our commitment to advancing both countries," said Limpo.
The cooperation includes three important commitments since Indonesia, as the largest agrarian country in the world, has a very good quality of agricultural production compared to other countries, he added.
The first commitment is about the need for dialogue on stabilizing imports and the availability of domestic meat and meat supplies from Australia, the minister said.
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"Why? Because Australia so far has very strong access to export meat. Hence, we need a guarantee of availability even though Australia and Indonesia have different farming cultures and systems," he explained.
The next commitment is related to agricultural investment from the two countries that can be accessed by the whole world, he said. Then, the agriculture minister said he also discussed the possibility of exporting rice to Australia with Littleproud.
"The third, I am honestly quite happy today that the Australian Minister of Agriculture is offering jobs and the possibility of internships for our educated millennial farmers. Those are three important points that will be our commitment," he added.
Meanwhile, Minister Littleproud said Australia and Indonesia are two countries that need each other. He further said that Australia has just gone through a rainy season during which half a million livestock have been lost due to storms and flash floods.
"Hence, our supply has gone down and that has had an impact on farmer groups who have lost their income. Therefore, the cooperation between the two countries is quite important," he added.
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Translator: Katriana
Editor: Suharto
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