09/02/2023 (Tempo.Co) - Indonesia has officially handed over the leadership of the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) to Malaysia for 2023. The hand-over ceremony took place at the Hotel Mandarin Oriental in Jakarta on Thursday, February 9.

"On this occasion, we officially hand over the chair of the CPOPC to the honorable Dato' Sri Fadillah as head of the Malaysian presidency [for CPOC] for the year 2023," Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said.

Airlangga and Fadillah Yusof, Malaysia's Commodities Minister, also agreed on the involvement of major exporting countries through policy dialogue and strategies for implementing Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) and Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certifications in the global market.

"The meeting also discussed CPOPC's membership expansion strategy, which was agreed to include Honduras as the third member of CPOPC in the near future," said Airlangga.

Honduras will become the third country and the first Latin American nation country to join CPOPC.

Joint mission to counter discrimination against the palm oil industry

Airlangga said that Indonesia and Malaysia have also agreed to communicate and counter unwanted consequences from the European Union's (EU) rule on deforestation against the two nations' palm oil industry.

In December, the EU imposed a new law preventing coffee, palm oil, soybeans and other crops that they claim have resulted in deforestation from entering its market. Indonesia and Malaysia, as the world's largest palm oil producers, deem the regulation as discriminatory.

Airlangga added that after the joint mission to the EU, they will make a visit to India to check out the potential for opportunities as well as promote ISPO and MSPO, which India has recognized.

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