tengku zafrul

KUALA LUMPUR — Investment, Trade and Industry Minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, held discussions with leaders from Singapore and his counterpart from Indonesia to enhance and strengthen economic cooperation for the mutual benefit of the three neighbouring countries.

“I had the opportunity to engage with counterparts from our neighbouring nations — Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto.

“Our main focus was to improve and deepen trilateral economic cooperation for our shared benefit,” he said in a post on his X platform, adding that he is currently in Indonesia.

Tengku Zafrul is one of four ministers accompanying Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on his official visit to Indonesia today.

Other ministers in the delegation include Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Higher Education Minister Senator Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, Communications Minister Datuk Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil, and Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.

Commenting further, Tengku Zafrul said the discussions, held against a backdrop of ongoing geopolitical challenges, also touched on ASEAN’s role in navigating the increasingly complex geoeconomic landscape.

In 2024, Indonesia was Malaysia’s sixth-largest global trading partner and the second-largest among ASEAN member states.

During the same period, bilateral trade rose 4.5 per cent to RM116.29 billion (US$25.5 billion), from RM111.21 billion (US$24.39 billion) in 2023.

In a statement on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry said Anwar, who also serves as Finance Minister, is making the visit in return for Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Malaysia earlier this year.

The visit includes bilateral meetings and attendance at the 46th ASEAN Summit, the Second ASEAN-GCC Summit, and the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit held from May 26 to 27.

“This visit also forms part of preparations for the 13th Annual Consultation between Malaysia and Indonesia, scheduled to take place later this year,” the statement added. — BERNAMA