ID :
212049
Mon, 10/10/2011 - 13:37
Auther :

BILATERAL DISCUSSION TOWARDS LOMBOK TALK



KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 (Bernama) -- Senior Malaysian and Indonesian officers met on Monday to discuss issues arising, between the two neighbours, in the run-up to the annual talks between Prime Minister Najib Razak and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in Lombok, on Oct 20.

The two-hour meeting of the 11th Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation between Malaysia and Indonesia (JCBC) was jointly headed by Malaysian Foreign Ministry Deputy Secretary-General Husni Zai Yaacob and Indonesian Foreign Ministry's Asia Pacific and Africa Director-General T. M. Hamzah Tayeb.

The ministerial level meeting to take place on Tuesday would be headed by Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and his counterpart Dr R.M. Marty M. Natalegawa.

Husni said the meeting discussed follow-up actions to the outcome of discussions of the annual talk between Najib and Susilo last year.

"We also discussed the status of 15 memorandums of understanding (MoU) which were signed by both nations and other issues like domestic workers and preparation for the annual meeting to be carried out in Lombok," he told reporters after the meeting.

In the May 18, 2010 talk in Putrajaya, Najib and Susilo agreed to boost efforts to realise strategic aspirations and common interests including through the Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) mechanism.

The strategic aspirations included those on economic issues, to ensure the rights of Malaysian employers and Indonesian maids were protected through an MoU on the recruitment and placement of Indonesian maids and increasing air links.

Meanwhile, Hamzah said that that Monday's meeting was a continuation of the previous meeting the commission had in Bali last year.

"We are both neigbouring countries and it would be good if we can elevate the relationship to a higher level for the benefit of the people of both countries," he said.

Asked on the proposed direct hiring of domestic workers, Hamzah said that the joint commission had already submitted the report to the ministerial level for further deliberation.
-- BERNAMA



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