The Malaysian side was led by Information, Communication and Culture Ministry Secretary General Kamaruddin Siaraf while Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Informatics Secretary General Dr Basuki Yusuf Iskandar led his delegation.
Both had gone to the same university -- Vanderbilt University in the United States although Kamaruddin was there much earlier.
That alone set a conducive start to the talks aimed at reviewing the Memorandum of Understanding on Information signed by both countries in 1984. The review was necessary with the expansion of the Malaysian ministry to include the communications and culture sectors.
While Kamaruddin said the talks would enable them to take into account the new perspective, Basuki regarded the meeting as a new milestone in enhancing the cooperation.
Activities that have been implemented include exchange of radio and television news, production of radio and television programmes, production of drama and films, and exchange programmes for information officers, media practitioners and technical personnel.
Decisions made by the senior officials will be forwarded to the ministerial-level meeting tomorrow. Malaysian Information, Communication and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim is scheduled to the Indonesian Communication and Informatics Minister Tifatul Sembiring tomorrow.
