Jokowi Discusses Rice Imports When Meeting Cambodian PM

President Joko Widodo during a bilateral meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday (5/3/2024). BETWEEN/HO-Biro Press of the Presidential Secretariat

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) discussed three main things during a bilateral meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister (PM) Hun Manet in Melbourne, Australia.

The meeting was also in the context of strengthening bilateral relations between Indonesia and Cambodia, welcoming the celebration of 65 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2024.

The President in a statement delivered by the Press, Media and Information Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat underlined the three main things in the bilateral meeting. First, increasing trade and investment cooperation through the development of connectivity and infrastructure, both in the air and sea sectors.

Regarding investment, the President said that Indonesian state-owned enterprises (BUMN) are ready to contribute and become the main partner in the railway and infrastructure sectors.

"In addition, we also need to continue to encourage interaction between business sectors to strengthen trade and investment," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, March 5.

Second, in the issue of eradicating the crime of trafficking in persons, President Jokowi appreciated the support of the Cambodian Government in handling Indonesian citizens (WNI) who were victims.

President Jokowi stressed the need to increase cooperation in the prevention and handling of criminal acts of trafficking between people between country of origin and destination and the implementation of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the Eradication of Transnational Crimes in 2023.

"The MoU for the Eradication of Transnational Crimes in 2023 needs to be implemented immediately, especially the exchange of intelligence information and increasing the police capacity of the two countries," said the President.

Finally, the two leaders discussed cooperation in the field of food security, including rice imports from Cambodia. President Jokowi also encouraged the completion of the MoU for Rice Trade Cooperation and the MoU for the Establishment of the Imbal Trade Mechanism to agree on prices and the amount of imported rice.

"The implementation of the Agricultural MoU also needs to be immediately encouraged, especially the follow-up to increasing the capacity of agricultural management, irrigation, and investment in rice processing and storage," said the President.

The President also expressed his gratitude for Cambodia's support during Indonesia's chairmanship in ASEAN 2023. The President also emphasized the importance of implementing the ASEAN agreement in the form of five consensus points (5PC) and solving the Myanmar crisis.

"We realize that ASEAN still has homework to implement the ASEAN agreement and resolve the Myanmar crisis. Indonesia will continue to support Laos chairmanship this year, especially in the implementation of the 5PC," said the President.