Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Indonesia and Malaysia plan to cooperate in the development of border areas, particularly villages, a minister said.
Minister of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration, Marwan Jafar revealed the plans in a written statement on Thursday after holding a series of meetings with his Malaysian counterparts earlier.
He said the work plan will soon be followed up with in an effort to improve the welfare of people residing in villages in the border areas.
"We have held meetings with a number of ministries in Malaysia. The meeting is held as part of the Indonesian government's commitment to developing villages, disadvantaged regions and transmigration," the minister noted.
He said that a village is a locus of agricultural development and food resilience at home. Thus, the agricultural sector needs to be reinforced.
Agriculture is the pillar of rural areas in achieving the self-reliant village and food resilience targets, he said.
In a meeting with Marwan, Malaysian Minister of Rural and Regional Development, Ismail Sabri Yaakob said Indonesia and Malaysia have different ways of appointing village heads.
In Indonesia, the head of villages are appointed through village head elections while in Malaysia the village heads are directly appointed by the relevant ministry.
"The Rural and Regional Development Ministry supervises 16 thousand Kampongs. The village heads in Malaysia are appointed and paid by the ministry. They are inaugurated by an agency at the governor level," Ismail said.
Malaysian Agriculture and Industry Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek claimed to be impressed by one of Indonesian products, namely the Sidoarja ships of East Java.
"The Sidoarjo ships taste good. It has good packaging. The task of the ministry, which I lead, concerns food and agriculture. Agriculture aims not only to eliminate poverty, but also assist farmers in developing their products for exports," Ahmad said. (WDY)
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Bali 2016
Minister of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration, Marwan Jafar revealed the plans in a written statement on Thursday after holding a series of meetings with his Malaysian counterparts earlier.
He said the work plan will soon be followed up with in an effort to improve the welfare of people residing in villages in the border areas.
"We have held meetings with a number of ministries in Malaysia. The meeting is held as part of the Indonesian government's commitment to developing villages, disadvantaged regions and transmigration," the minister noted.
He said that a village is a locus of agricultural development and food resilience at home. Thus, the agricultural sector needs to be reinforced.
Agriculture is the pillar of rural areas in achieving the self-reliant village and food resilience targets, he said.
In a meeting with Marwan, Malaysian Minister of Rural and Regional Development, Ismail Sabri Yaakob said Indonesia and Malaysia have different ways of appointing village heads.
In Indonesia, the head of villages are appointed through village head elections while in Malaysia the village heads are directly appointed by the relevant ministry.
"The Rural and Regional Development Ministry supervises 16 thousand Kampongs. The village heads in Malaysia are appointed and paid by the ministry. They are inaugurated by an agency at the governor level," Ismail said.
Malaysian Agriculture and Industry Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek claimed to be impressed by one of Indonesian products, namely the Sidoarja ships of East Java.
"The Sidoarjo ships taste good. It has good packaging. The task of the ministry, which I lead, concerns food and agriculture. Agriculture aims not only to eliminate poverty, but also assist farmers in developing their products for exports," Ahmad said. (WDY)
Editor : I Gusti Bagus Widyantara
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Bali 2016