Indonesian and Malaysian Governments Collaborate on Rural Development

The Ministry of Villages and Regional Development (Kemendes PDT) has established a partnership with the Malaysian Government regarding rural development. This collaboration was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indonesian and Malaysian governments, represented by the Minister of Villages and Regional Development, Yandri Susanto, and Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at the Ministry’s office in Jakarta on Thursday.

“We hope this MoU is not merely a valueless document; we want the implementation to be executed, because we are essentially mandated by the people to provide the best for public welfare,” stated Minister Yandri during his speech at the event.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed similar sentiments. The scope of the cooperation includes increasing village management capacity, digitalisation for rural progress, the development of rural entrepreneurship and village enterprises, ecotourism and agrotourism, vocational and technical training for rural youth, and poverty alleviation.

Furthermore, Minister Yandri noted that this cooperation can be translated into several concrete programmes developed by the Ministry, such as ‘export villages’ and ‘tourism villages’.

“We have export villages. As the Minister of Villages, I have already launched the first export from East Java in Pacitan Regency, involving organic palm sugar to Malaysia,” he said.

According to him, moving forward, this partnership could open more opportunities for products produced in Indonesian villages to be marketed in Malaysia. The development of this cooperation can also be achieved through the exchange of experience and data between Indonesia and Malaysia regarding rural development.

Currently, according to the Minister, significant work remains in the development of villages in Indonesia. Out of a total of 75,266 villages, he noted that some still fall into the categories of underdeveloped and highly underdeveloped villages. In line with this, he hopes that the cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia will increasingly produce programmes that impact rural progress and community welfare.