Foreign Minister Zambry on first official visit to Jakarta starting today

During his first official visit since his appointment on Dec 2, Zambry will pay a courtesy call on Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his counterpart, Retno Marsudi, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) today.

"The official visit reflects the close and comprehensive ties between the two immediate neighbours.

"It will also provide an opportunity for both parties to assess the progress of bilateral cooperation, explore new potentials for more comprehensive collaborations and discuss joint efforts in addressing regional and global challenges," said the statement.

Zambry is also scheduled to deliver a lecture on strengthening bilateral relations between Malaysia and Indonesia to students at Bina Nusantara University (BINUS), Jakarta.

He is also scheduled to have engagement sessions with the Indonesia-Malaysia Business Council (IMBC), Indonesian youth leaders and the Malaysian diaspora in Jakarta, the statement added.

In 2021, Indonesia was Malaysia's 7th largest trading partner and ASEAN's 3rd largest trading partner with a total trade volume of RM95.31 billion (US$22.98 billion).

Between January to October 2022, the total trade reached RM110.44 billion (US$25.19 billion), a 47.2 per cent increase compared to RM75.03 billion (US$18.14 billion) for the same period in 2021.