JAKARTA, Oct 11 — Indonesia has confirmed that discussions with Malaysia are underway to detail the best form of cooperation to tackle forest and land fires that have triggered transboundary haze.
Indonesian Communications Agency head Syahganda Nainggolan said good relations between the two countries were an important foundation for finding joint solutions, particularly as firefighting operations faced challenges, including natural factors.
“Malaysia’s Foreign Minister and Indonesia’s Foreign Minister are holding detailed discussions to find solutions and jointly address the forest and land fires,” he told the media on Saturday.
Syahganda was responding to a question about Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement on Malaysia’s readiness to assist Indonesia, as well as a proposal to convene a regional meeting of environment ministers to coordinate efforts to tackle transboundary haze.
“The haze situation is indeed worrying. I personally contacted President Prabowo, and he agreed that the necessary measures should be taken,” Anwar said.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry reported on Saturday that 437 high-confidence hotspots had been detected nationwide as of 9 pm on Friday, up from 387 the previous day.
Of the total, 270 hotspots were detected in six priority provinces across Sumatra and Kalimantan, while 61 aircraft had been deployed for firefighting operations, aerial patrols and weather modification.
