JAKARTA – The Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Kemendes PDT) continues to accelerate rural development in alignment with President Prabowo Subianto's 6th Asta Cita objective: building from the grassroots and villages to achieve economic equity and poverty eradication. In pursuit of this goal, Kemendes PDT has forged a strategic partnership with the Government of Malaysia.

The Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Mendes PDT), Yandri Susanto, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia who also serves as the Minister of Rural and Regional Development  Dato' Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Kemendes PDT headquarters in Jakarta on Thursday (September 17, 2026).

"We hope this MoU does not remain a symbolic document, but rather translates into concrete implementation. Given our mandate to serve the public, our ultimate goal is to optimize welfare for our citizens," Minister Yandri stated.

As an initial step, both nations will establish a Joint Working Group to operationalize cooperation through Kemendes PDT’s flagship frameworks, particularly Export Villages (Desa Ekspor) and Tourism Villages (Desa Wisata).

"We have established the Export Village model. I previously flagged off our inaugural rural export from Pacitan Regency, East Java, delivering organic palm sugar directly to Malaysia," Minister Yandri noted.

Minister Yandri expressed confidence that this bilateral arrangement will unlock wider market access across Malaysia for Indonesian rural products.

Beyond export promotion, the partnership will leverage tourism villages through cross-border promotional campaigns and reciprocal tourist visits.

"This collaboration will facilitate knowledge exchange, technical expertise sharing, and rural development data integration between Indonesia and Malaysia," Minister Yandri added.

Minister Yandri acknowledged that significant challenges remain across Indonesia’s rural landscape. Out of 75,266 villages nationwide, a notable portion continues to be classified as underdeveloped or severely underdeveloped.

Consequently, he emphasized that sustained Indonesia-Malaysia cooperation must generate high-impact initiatives that directly improve village prosperity.

Echoing these sentiments, Deputy Prime Minister Dato' Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi affirmed Malaysia's commitment to maximizing the mutual benefits of the agreement.

"We trust that this collaborative framework will be executed to the highest standard for our mutual progress," Dato' Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi stated.

The scope of cooperation encompasses capacity building for rural administration, rural digital transformation, rural entrepreneurship and business development, eco-tourism and agro-tourism, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) for rural youth, and poverty alleviation strategies.

The Malaysian delegation included the Ambassador of Malaysia to Indonesia, Dato' Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino (represented by Chargé d'Affaires Muzafar Shah Mustafa), along with senior officials from the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia.

Accompanying Minister Yandri were Deputy Minister of Villages PDT Ahmad Riza Patria, Secretary-General Taufik Madjid, along with Senior Executive and Administrative Officials within Kemendes PDT.

Photo: Mugi/Kemendes PDT
Text: Firman/Kemendes PDT