Kuala lumpur: Malaysia and Indonesia are seeking closer cooperation in rural development through the sharing of experiences and best practices to improve the well-being of communities in both countries. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Minister of Rural and Regional Development, said both countries had their own experiences and approaches to rural development that could be shared and adopted.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Malaysia should learn from Indonesia in developing disadvantaged regions, as the Indonesian Government's commitment to helping rural communities is exceptional. Ahmad Zahid made these remarks before signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indonesian Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions Yandri Susanto.
The MoU covers eight areas of cooperation, including capacity building in village management for government officials and rural communities; digitalisation through the promotion of inclusive smart villages; and rural entrepreneurship and village enterprise development to enhance the capacity and commercial potential of rural entrepreneurs and cooperatives.
The cooperation also extends to ecotourism and agro-tourism, leveraging shared cultural heritage and natural biodiversity; technical and vocational education and training (TVET) for rural youth; and poverty eradication through the sharing of best practices and development of joint programmes.
The two countries also agreed to establish a Sister Village programme involving the exchange of best practices, culture, and economic opportunities, as well as other areas of rural development to be agreed upon from time to time. Ahmad Zahid noted that Indonesia had about 75,000 villages compared with 15,750 villages in Malaysia.
He emphasized that rural development should encompass e-commerce alongside education, infrastructure, and communications, including 4G and 5G connectivity. He stressed the importance of bringing technology and knowledge to rural areas to ensure equitable access to prosperity for rural communities, while inviting Yandri to visit Malaysia to observe the country's rural development initiatives firsthand.
Meanwhile, Yandri said the implementation of the MoU would be followed by the establishment of a working group, with meetings to be held at least once a year, including through focus group discussions (FGDs) or seminars to facilitate the exchange of experiences. He expressed confidence that the cooperation would bring positive benefits to both countries and further strengthen Malaysia-Indonesia ties through mutually beneficial collaboration.
Yandri also stated, 'We are pleased to learn from what Malaysia has done for its villages, and we will also share our experiences with Malaysia whenever needed.'