MOU expanded to include jatropha

Malaysia and Indonesia will explore amending their existing bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate in commodities to include jatropha, in addition to palm oil, cocoa and pepper. This was agreed upon during the fourth joint committee meeting co-chaired by Malaysian Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Bernard Dompok and Indonesian Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono in the capital of Malaysia’s Sabah state of Kota Kinabalut on April 28. According to a joint statement issued by the ministries, the amendment is aimed at formalizing cooperation in this area and establishing a separate working group for activities like the exchange of technical information and data on research and development (R&D) on jatropha. (May 1, 2009)