Preventing Transboundary Violations, Sri Mulyani And Malaysian Minister Of Finance Establish Customs Cooperation

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani (right) with the Minister of Finance of Malaysia (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Finance)

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance (Minister of Finance) Sri Mulyani and Minister of Finance of Malaysia Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Azis signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation and mutual administrative assistance in the customs sector.

According to the Minister of Finance, the scope of this collaboration includes the exchange of administrative and intelligence data and information, capacity building for both parties and accommodating the exchange of information using information technology. Meanwhile, the implementing bodies of this memorandum of understanding are Customs and Kastam Diraja Malaysia.

"The cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia in the customs sector has existed for a long time. One of the forms is the annual bilateral meeting which has been scheduled every year since 2003," he said in a press statement quoted on Friday, November 12.

This annual routine meeting, continued the Minister of Finance, is a meeting at the level of the director general of each customs administration as a forum for discussing customs issues in the two countries and enhancing existing cooperation.

"The momentum for the signing of this memorandum of understanding is expected to open up other cooperation opportunities, namely cross-border trade and Islamic finance. Thus, it is hoped that it will increase the synergy in the supervision of the Indonesia-Malaysia border to realize a reduction in the level of customs and excise violations," explained the Minister of Finance.

In addition to the agreement on the customs sector, the finance ministers of the two countries also shared their experiences and understanding regarding the handling of the global financial crisis and the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In the future, both parties also agree to share their concerns and will further strengthen cooperation in various fields related to economic, financial and fiscal issues, including the development of the Islamic finance sector and deepening of the financial sector," concluded Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.