Kuala lumpur: Malaysia and Indonesia are exploring opportunities to enhance their bilateral trade, which reached RM114 billion last year, by focusing on strengthening trade facilitation and optimizing the movement of goods across borders. Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani emphasized the potential for significant growth in transaction volumes if both nations improve trade facilitation mechanisms.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Johari discussed these opportunities following his meeting with Indonesian counterpart Budi Santoso at the fourth Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Trade and Investment Committee (JTIC) meeting. The meeting also saw the attendance of Malaysia's Ambassador-designate to Indonesia, Datuk Muzafar Shah Mustafa. Johari highlighted the current trade figures, noting that Malaysia exported RM51 billion worth of goods to Indonesia last year and imported RM62.6 billion. He expressed a desire to increase Malaysia's export figures.
The bilateral trade between the two countries has already shown a promising increase, rising by 10 percent year-on-year to RM71.1 billion in the first seven months of 2026, compared to the same period in the previous year. During a joint press conference, Johari outlined key topics discussed at the meeting, including the Border Trade Agreement, Indonesia's export policies, investment cooperation, and halal standard requirements. Technical teams from Malaysia and Indonesia are actively working on these issues.
Johari also mentioned that Malaysia respects and will comply with Indonesia's new export policy, which channels strategic natural-resource commodities through a designated state-owned entity. He stressed the importance of strengthening investment collaboration, citing those Malaysian investments in Indonesia from 2023 to 2025 amounted to approximately RM70 billion, or about US$17 billion.
Budi echoed Johari's optimism, stating that both nations anticipate a continued rise in bilateral trade, driven by stronger investment flows. He underscored the importance of Malaysia and Indonesia's strong cultural ties and mutual trust as ASEAN members, which bolster trade and investment growth.