It was unprecedented, Anwar said after his meeting with Jokowi held behind closed doors at Putrajaya, that the two neighbors were “on the same page” about defending their palm oil commodity on the world stage.

The call for collaboration is the latest effort by Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta to contest the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which stipulates a ban on imports considered to be driving deforestation. It would be a direct blow to the two Southeast Asian countries, if it were to gain the final approval of EU member states.

Last week, top officials from the two countries, Plantation and Commodities Minister Fadhillah Yusof of Malaysia and Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto joined forces and embarked for Brussels to voice their concerns over the EUDR. Airlangga’s office told The Jakarta Post that the policy would lead to onerous paperwork for smallholder farmers, which might exclude them from the EU market altogether.

Jokowi, who arrived in Malaysia on Wednesday to discuss some unfinished negotiations including land and maritime borders, again used the opportunity to put the spotlight on the EUDR.

“We talked about how economic cooperation between us has increased,” Anwar told a press briefing after Thursday's meeting. […] but there was one aspect that President Jokowi emphasized so firmly, whether at the Group of Seven [G7] or other international forums: It is in protecting the interests and needs of our trade, accounting for both big and small palm oil plantations.”

“Do not let the commodities produced by Malaysia and Indonesia be discriminated against by other countries. [...] We need to continue to strengthen this collaboration,” Jokowi added