Malaysian foreign minister discusses Palestine with Indonesian leadership

ISTANBUL

The Malaysian foreign minister met the Indonesian leadership in Jakarta on Tuesday to discuss a range of issues including the conflict in Palestine, the Foreign Ministry said.

Mohamad Hasan, on his first official visit to Jakarta since being appointed last December, met his counterpart Retno Marsudi and discussed "bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest."

Hasan also paid a courtesy call to Indonesia President Joko Widodo, where he expressed that his visit was a "continuation of the efforts" by Kuala Lumpur to "further strengthen" the partnership with Indonesia and enhance cooperation at the level of ASEAN, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Hasan "reiterated Malaysia's position, which is also shared by Indonesia, regarding the struggle of Palestinian people and their inalienable right to a free and independent State of Palestine," the ministry said.

Marsudi, on her part, said she was "Pleased to welcome" Hasan, adding: "We shared our commitment to strengthen economic cooperation & discussed issues of border negotiations, protection of Indonesian migrant workers, ASEAN and #Palestine."

Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 cross-border offensive by Palestinian group Hamas have killed more than 27,000 people, besides causing mass destruction and suffering. About 1,200 were killed in the initial Hamas attacks.

The situation in Myanmar, where the junta has been ruling for the past three years after toppling the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, and matters such as "discrimination against palm oil" were also discussed. Malaysia and Indonesia are the world’s biggest palm oil producers but a new deforestation rule has threatened to shut the commodity out of the EU market.