ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Indonesia on Tuesday signed a series of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) aimed at expanding cooperation in Halal trade, small and medium enterprises, higher education, health and anti-narcotics efforts during the ongoing visit of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
The signing ceremony took place at the Prime Minister’s House following President Subianto’s one-on-one meeting and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Ministers from both countries exchanged pre-signed documents in the presence of the two leaders.
Under the higher education framework, an agreement on mutual recognition of academic certificates and degrees was signed between Indonesia’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology and Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC). The documents were exchanged by Pakistan’s Federal Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Indonesian Minister Brian Yuliarto.
A separate agreement on the Indonesian Aid Scholarships programme was also formalised, with the documents exchanged by Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono and Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.
In the trade sector, both sides signed an MoU on cooperation in Halal trade and certification, exchanged by Foreign Minister Sugiono and Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan. Another MoU on SME facilitation and business development was exchanged by Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain and the Indonesian foreign minister.
Pakistan and Indonesia also signed an MoU on archives cooperation, with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar exchanging documents with Foreign Minister Sugiono. Another MoU covering collaboration on preventing and combating illicit drug trafficking was also exchanged.
The two countries additionally formalised cooperation in the health sector, with Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono and Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal exchanging the relevant MoU.
The agreements mark a broad-based expansion in bilateral engagement as Islamabad and Jakarta seek to deepen institutional and economic ties.
