3rd JTIC Meeting Discusses 1970 Border Trade Agreement Review

KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 (Bernama) -- A review of the 1970 Border Trade Agreement and trade restrictions on the Tebedu-Entikong border were among key issues discussed between Malaysia and Indonesia at the recent Third Joint Trade and Investment Committee (JTIC) meeting in Kuching. It was hosted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) with the support of the Sarawak state government. Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed and Indonesia’s Trade Minister, Enggartiasto Lukita, co-chaired the meeting. MITI in a statement Thursday said also discussed was recognition of Malaysia’s halal logo by Indonesia, cooperation in intellectual property (IP) issues, standards, recognition, cooperation and collaboration on issues related to palm oil products. “Many business opportunities exist between both countries. With a total population of 255 million, Indonesia provides a potentially huge market to be tapped by Malaysian companies,” it said. It also said Malaysia at the same time needs to ramp up efforts at attracting more investments from Indonesia. In conjunction with the meeting, both ministers also took the opportunity to visit the Tebedu-Entikong border – the first entry point into Sarawak from West Kalimantan - to oversee the latest developments in the area. The JTIC is a platform to strengthen trade and investment ties between Malaysia and Indonesia, enabling both countries to discuss proposed collaboration and settle emerging issues relating to bilateral economic relations diplomatically, constructively and orderly. The inaugural JTIC meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 15, 2008 and the second in Jakarta on June 30 last year, which discussed issues, including cross border trade and export of Malaysian halal products to Indonesia. Indonesia is Malaysia’s eighth largest trading partner and the third largest among the ASEAN countries with total trade between both countries amounting to US$13.29 billion (RM57.09 billion) last year. For the first five months this year, total trade increased by 38.4 per cent to RM31.73 billion from RM22.92 billion in the same period last year. (US$1 = RM4.29) -- BERNAMA