JAKARTA: Indonesia and Malaysia have vowed to partner and fight “discrimination” against the palm oil sector by Australia, Pacific countries and Europe.
“Indonesia expects the same commitment from Malaysia regarding this issue,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Friday as he hosted his regional counterpart, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, during a short visit to Jakarta.
Widodo added that Indonesia will “continue to fight the discrimination” which would have a “more favorable outcome if Indonesia and Malaysia joined forces.”
Friday’s visit marked Yassin’s first foreign trip abroad since assuming office in March 2020.
“The anti-palm oil campaign is baseless and doesn’t reflect the world’s palm oil sustainability, and is against the EU and WTO’s commitment on free trade,” Yassin said.