"I hugely appreciated the recent Indonesia-Malaysian joint mission to Brussels; such cooperation should be enhanced," Jokowi stated in a press statement with Ibrahim after a bilateral meeting at Seri Perdana, Putrajaya, Malaysia on Thursday.
According to the Buletin TV3 Malaysia YouTube channel here, the president referred to the Indonesia-Malaysian joint mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium on May 30-31, 2023.
The joint mission conveyed Indonesia's and Malaysia's concerns about the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) that can impede the access of palm oil commodities to the European Market.
Moreover, EUDR could potentially harm small farmers, who would be burdened by its rigorous criteria.
"We should not let commodities produced by Malaysia and by Indonesia be discriminated against in other countries," the president stressed.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim commended Jokowi's concern on the palm oil commodity discrimination issue, which he conveyed in various international fora, such as at the recent G7 Summit.
"I wish to congratulate the two ministers for the meeting in Europe. It is the first time that Indonesia and Malaysia united in one voice to defend the interest of palm commodities," the prime minister stated.
He also said that despite Malaysia sharing the same interest with Indonesia, Jokowi has ensured that Indonesia would take the leading position through his firm initiative at international fora.
Ibrahim also said that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in conversations with him, even once remarked that he is involved in a cartel.
"I did not understand his meaning initially, but it turns out that 'cartel' term had been used by Mr President (Jokowi) during the G7 Summit to defend the nation's and the people's economic interest," he remarked.
Jokowi's visit to Malaysia is a bid to reply to Ibrahim's visit to Indonesia on January 9, 2023.
During the visit, various memoranda of understanding were created as a follow-up to the Malaysian PM's January visit, and have been exchanged between officials from the two countries.
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Translator: Gilang Galiartha, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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