Jakarta, hitclubapk3 Indonesia
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Minister of Cooperatives
(Menkop) Ferry Juliantono received an audience from the honorary guest of the Secretary of State for Cooperative Affairs for Timor Leste, Arsenio Pereira da Silva, at his office, Friday (5/12).
The meeting discussed a number of important agendas, namely the follow-up to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was signed in February 2024.
The hearing was held to equalize perceptions regarding the importance of the role of cooperatives in a country’s economic development which will be presented on the international agenda, especially the ASEAN Cooperative Ministerial Meeting (ACMM) and Dili Cooperative Expo 2026 in Timor Leste.
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Minister of Cooperatives Ferry said that the visit of the Timor Leste delegation was a great honor for Indonesia in order to strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially in efforts to develop cooperatives in the two countries.
“This is a visit and an honor for us, hopefully we can continue the cooperation that already has an MoU between the Ministry of Cooperatives and the related Ministry of Timor Leste Cooperatives,” said Minister of Cooperatives Ferry in an official statement, Friday (5/12).
Ferry emphasized that the MoU agreed upon by the two countries needs to be reviewed and sharpened, so that in the future cooperation in developing the cooperative ecosystem can be more easily implemented.
Apart from that, Coordinating Minister Ferry emphasized the need to revise the MoU so that it is in line with the latest policies in both countries.According to him, the pending achievements from the previous MoU must be inventoried, including the obstacles faced, so that collaboration can be significantly strengthened.
Therefore, it is necessary to establish a Joint Technical Working Group as a forum to strengthen technical cooperation between Indonesia and Timor Leste.In fact, this team is also needed to jointly prepare material that will be presented at international forums next year.
“I hope that a joint technical working group can be formed and discussed together. We are of course very enthusiastic because the more countries involved, especially in the Asean region, to advance cooperatives, the better it will be,” said Cooperative Minister Ferry.
Ferry further expressed his high appreciation to Timor Leste after it was officially accepted as a Full Member of ASEAN on October 26 2025. The inclusion of Timor Leste as a member of ASEAN is considered to strengthen the space for regional collaboration in various fields, including in advancing and developing cooperatives.
“Collaboration related to ASEAN is the most important thing. Congratulations on becoming a full member of ASEAN, we are ready to attend ACMM in Dili,” said Ferry.
In the context of the latest policies in the era of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, Minister of Cooperatives Ferry said that the Ministry of Cooperatives has a big mandate to make cooperatives one of the most important pillars in national economic development through the development program of 80 thousand Red and White Village/Kelurahan Cooperatives (Kopdes/Kel).
Through this program, Coordinating Minister Ferry opens up opportunities for the Timor Leste government to work together, especially in strengthening cooperative human resources.
Coordinating Minister Ferry is optimistic that cooperation between the Indonesian Government and the Timor Leste Government will provide great benefits for both countries, especially in terms of cooperative progress.He emphasized that the Kopdes/Kel Merah Putih program would be able to solve various problems in villages such as poverty, development inequality and others.
“Hopefully this collaboration will provide benefits for both countries. We are open to anyone to collaborate to build a better cooperative business ecosystem, including Timor Leste,” he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Cooperatives Farida Farichah emphasized that the government’s commitment to reviving cooperatives in Indonesia must be echoed at the international level.Moreover, 2025 is the year of International Cooperatives, so this is a momentum for the Indonesian government to encourage the rebranding of cooperatives at the ASEAN level through the Kopdes/Kel Merah Putih program.
Timor Leste State Secretary for Cooperatives Arsenio Pereira da Silva appreciated the warm welcome from all levels at the Ministry of Cooperatives for his visit.He stated that he would learn a lot from Indonesia regarding the management and development of cooperatives which would later be replicated in Timor Leste.
Arsenio also appreciated and welcomed the Kopdes/Kel Merah Putih program initiated by President Prabowo.According to him, cooperatives are an important pillar in the country’s economic development so they need to be prioritized.
“The existence of the Red and White Village Cooperative Program is very good and I will discuss it with the Prime Minister so that the spirit of the cooperative movement in Timor Leste can be raised,” said Arsenio.
He hopes that through this meeting, several points of agreement that have been signed previously can be immediately followed up and strengthened.After there is a revision of the MoU, he hopes that there will soon be real action that can encourage the progress and development of cooperatives, especially in his country.
(har)
