"Indonesia is committed to strengthening bilateral relations with Malaysia, especially in terms of food commodity trade," Adi said at the "International Food Security in Indonesia and Malaysia" seminar, held at the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday (October 11).
He highlighted that Indonesia also remains resolute in enhancing cooperation with Malaysia to build a more efficient market mechanism to support the regional food supply chain.
He expressed hope that the Indonesia-Malaysia bilateral cooperation would grow and be more mutually beneficial.
"By increasing the volume of trade, such as of rice, shallots, and other food product commodities, we can complement each other's food needs in the region," Adi said at the seminar, organized by the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Alumni.
He also highlighted the importance of people's role in encouraging cooperation between the countries that have the same roots.
According to Adi, Indonesia also imports several food commodities and exports surplus food supplies.
"We calculate how many strategic staple food products are available and how many we need," he stated.
His side will thereafter assess the sufficiency and insufficiency of food supply so that once the import policy is made, it has gone through calculations and pays attention to the welfare of farmers as food producers.
He explained that this strategy aligns with the food self-sufficiency vision of President-elect Prabowo Subianto, who has planned to work towards enabling Indonesia to regain its food self-sufficiency status four years after he is inaugurated on October 20.
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Translator: M Harianto, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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