Indonesia and Malaysia have had close cooperation in various fields, including defense, which covers the education of cadets and officers, intelligence, trade, defense industry, and security.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and his Malaysian counterpart, Mohamed Khaled Nordin, explored opportunities for stronger defense cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia.

Defense cooperation was one of the themes discussed during a meeting between the two ministers at the office of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense in Jakarta on Tuesday.

At the meeting, which was Nordin’s first after being appointed as the new defense minister, Prabowo emphasized that Indonesia and Malaysia have special relations, as the two countries are related to the Malay ethnicity.

“Congratulations on the appointment of Your Excellency Datuk Seri Mohamed Nordin as the new Minister of Defense of Malaysia," he told Minister Nordin.

Prabowo also affirmed that the Indonesian Ministry of Defense is ready to cooperate with the Malaysian Ministry of Defense as well as to support the minister.

He explained that Indonesia and Malaysia have had close cooperation in various fields, including defense, which covers the education of cadets and officers, intelligence, trade, defense industry, and security.

However, Prabowo believes that several forms of cooperation can be expanded and intensified between Indonesia and Malaysia.

"Indonesia hopes to establish stronger cooperation in the fields of defense, intelligence, defense industry, and education with Malaysia, especially in terms of exchanges of military students and defense industry," he remarked.

In the field of defense, one of the important forms of cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia is the General Border Committee Malaysia-Indonesia (GBC Malindo) that meets annually.

In the latest meeting of GBC Malindo in Indonesia in 2023, the two agreed to reactivate 14 joint guard posts in the Indonesia-Malaysia border areas, with seven posts being located in Indonesia's territory, while the seven other posts are in Malaysia's territory.

The next meeting of GBC Malindo in 2024 will be held in Malaysia.

GBC Malindo was formed on August 11, 1966, after the restoration of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Malaysia.

GBC Malindo is a cooperation committee that manages partnerships, especially in the field of security in border areas. Under the cooperation framework, the two countries agree to hold a meeting annually.

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Translator: Genta Tenri, Raka Adji
Editor: Arie Novarina
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