KL to host second RI, Malaysia EPG meeting

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 10/08/2008 10:35 AM | World

Members of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) from Malaysia and Indonesia will hold their second meeting in Kuala Lumpur this week to discuss bilateral relations, Malaysia's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday in a press release.

Retired army general and former vice president Try Sutrisno will lead the Indonesian delegation at the two-day meeting on Wednesday and Thursday. The group comprises 14 members from each country, and was inaugurated in Kuala Lumpur last July, amid wrangles over issues of borders, migrant workers and cultural heritage, that threatened long-established relations.

The first EPG meeting was held in Jakarta in August.

Malaysians and Indonesians share a common religious, ethnic and even linguistic identity that has led to frequent clashes over claims to cultural heritage.

Tuesday's press release, made available by the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta, said eminent figures from both countries would continue to discuss activities to enhance bilateral relations and determine the course to be charted by the two countries as they mark 51 years of relations.

"The EPG mechanism bears testimony to the commitment of both sides toward ensuring harmonious relations in the years ahead and in harnessing the existing complementarities with the view to forge greater strategic depth in bilateral relations," the release said.

The group expects to conclude the meeting with a number of "people-to-people contact programs", such as dialogues between historians, university students, youth organizations and media practitioners.

The EPG, which expects to submit its first set of recommendations in the next six months, will not discuss diplomatic issues.