Indonesia, Malaysia ink agreement to advance rural development

 The Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions has established a partnership with the Malaysian government regarding rural development through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The agreement was signed by Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions, Yandri Susanto, and Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in Jakarta 

"We hope this MoU will not remain merely a document, but will be properly implemented to deliver the best outcomes for public welfare," Susanto said in his remarks.

On the same occasion, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed similar sentiments, where he expressed hope to carry out the cooperation in the best way possible.

The areas of cooperation include enhancing village management capacity, digitalization for rural advancement, developing rural entrepreneurship and village-based businesses, ecotourism and agrotourism, vocational and technical education and training for rural youth, and poverty alleviation.

Minister Susanto noted that the cooperation could be incorporated into concrete programs already developed by the ministry, such as export villages and tourism villages.

"We already have export villages. I have also launched the inaugural export of organic palm sugar from Pacitan District, East Java, to Malaysia," he added.

He also sees the partnership could open up more opportunities to market products from Indonesian villages in Malaysia.

Besides export villages, the minister noted the cooperation could also focus on developing tourism villages through promotion and encouraging tourist visits between the two countries.

He noted that this cooperation could be further developed through the exchange of experiences and data between Indonesia and Malaysia regarding rural development.

According to Susanto, much still needs to be done to advance Indonesia's rural development.

Out of the 75,266 villages, he noted that some are still classified as underdeveloped or severely underdeveloped.

In this regard, he expressed hope that the cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia would continue to produce concrete initiatives supporting village development and improving the livelihoods of rural communities.