Malaysia: Malaysia and Indonesia have strengthened legal cooperation through an official meeting between Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said and Indonesian Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas in Jakarta, yesterday.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Azalina stated that the working visit was part of her ASEAN nation tour under Malaysia's 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship, featuring productive discussions on enhancing regional legal certainty and establishing ASEAN as a trusted dispute resolution hub. She mentioned that they exchanged views on the proposed Joint Statement by ASEAN Law Ministers and discussed effective strategies for the development of international commercial arbitration and mediation. They also explored potential legal cooperation in areas such as business law reform, online safety, and anti-corruption laws.
During the visit, Azalina extended an invitation to Supratman to attend the ASEAN Law Forum 2025, scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur this August, which received a positive commitment from the Indonesian minister. Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister's Department (BHEUU) highlighted that the historically strong ties between Malaysia and Indonesia would deepen through legal-justice cooperation, contributing to regional security and prosperity.
Azalina affirmed Malaysia's commitment to building a future-oriented legal ecosystem that benefits ASEAN economies, reflecting the region's shared values of justice, good governance, and sustainable growth. She emphasized the importance of promoting mediation and arbitration as practical, cost-effective, and efficient mechanisms for commercial dispute resolution to foster a business-friendly legal environment that supports regional trade, investment, and cross-border cooperation.
"Our region's future hinges on legal stability through resilient frameworks. Through collective law reforms, Malaysia advances ASEAN's prosperity," she remarked. Touching on the ASEAN Law Forum 2025, the statement noted that it was organized by Malaysia with support from the ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN member countries, and Japan. The forum serves as a dialogue platform for ASEAN Senior Law Officials Meeting (ASLOM) representatives to promote justice, support regional economic integration, and advance discussions on arbitration, mediation, online safety, cybercrime, cross-border insolvency, commercial law, and good governance.
Indonesia is Malaysia's second-largest trading partner in ASEAN and sixth-largest globally, with bilateral trade reaching US$25.5 billion in 2024. Both countries have also pledged to strengthen economic ties, signing six bilateral instruments covering trade and investment facilitation in June 2023.