JOINT STATEMENT BILATERAL MINISTERIAL MEETING 9 th FEBRUARY 2023

• The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Plantation and Commodities of
  Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Sri Haji Fadillah bin Haji Yusof, and the Coordinating
  Minister for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, H.E. Airlangga
  Hartarto representing the CPOPC Ministerial Council held a Bilateral Ministerial
  Meeting followed by the Palm Oil Industry Dialogue on 9 February 2023 at the
  Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• In the meeting, the Ministers discussed some of the pressing issues with regard
  to the palm oil industry, and proposed a joint approach and possible
  coordinated actions. Both Ministers agreed to continue protecting the palm oil
  sector by strengthening efforts and cooperation in addressing discrimination
  against palm oil. In particular, Ministers discussed the European Union’s
  Deforestation-free Commodities regulation. Both Ministers expressed grave
  concern on the adoption of the regulation, which will have significant negative
  impacts on global palm oil exports as well as other developing countries. The
  Ministers agreed that the Regulation is a protectionist instrument that will raise
  costs for exporters of palm oil and reduce their competitiveness against other
  vegetable oils in the European Union. The Ministers noted their disappointment
  to the European Union that has not conducted consultations with its trading
  partners in a meaningful way.
• In relation to that, strategies for a wider recognition of ISPO and MSPO in the
  global market were discussed and to be actively pursued, including the
  benchmarks and pathways for the recognition. The meeting also discussed
  strategies on the expansion of CPOPC membership and saw the possibility of
  Honduras becoming the third member of CPOPC very soon. In further
  enhancing the visibility of CPOPC, the meeting agreed to intensify engagement
  with the United Nations bodies. The Ministers also concurred for more

coordinated efforts between the two governments to resolve the issue of labour
shortages and legalization of foreign workers in the industry.

4. In response to the recent political agreement on the proposal of the European
   Union Deforestation-free Commodities, the meeting agreed to conduct a joint
   mission to the EU in communicating the unintended consequences of the
   regulation to the palm oil sector, especially on possible exclusion of
   smallholders from the supply chain, and in seeking possible collaborative
   approach among parties concerned. CPOPC intends to continue engaging with
   the EU in seeking favourable outcomes for both producing and consuming
   countries. The meeting agreed on the feasibility of using ASEAN as a strategic
   platform to voice the concerns of palm oil sector.
5. The Ministers also agreed that following the joint mission to the EU, a visit will
   also be made to India to harness some of the potential opportunities in the
   country. The visit among others, aims at promoting further the use of palm oil
   following the recognition of ISPO and MSPO by India through a joint initiative
   with the Indian Palm Oil Sustainability Framework (IPOS), and the introduction
   and acceptance of CPOPC’s Global Framework of Principles for Sustainable
   Palm Oil (GFP-SPO).
6. Following the bilateral meeting, both ministers participated in the working lunch
   and industry dialogue that was attended by the representatives of key
   stakeholders of the oil palm sector of both Indonesia and Malaysia. During the
   dialogue session, H.E. Airlangga Hartarto officially handed over the
   chairmanship of CPOPC to YAB Dato’ Sri Fadillah bin Hj Yusof as Malaysia will
   be the Chairman for 2023.
7. The takeaway of the Industrial Dialogue was that everyone including the
   Government, Private Sectors and smallholders need to be united in addressing
   the prevailing common issues plaguing the industry for the good of the palm oil
   producing countries.