Indonesia, Malaysia cooperate to respond to COVID-19 pandemic

The governments of Indonesia and Malaysia plan to cooperate in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the mutual recognition of vaccination certificates and the establishment of PCR laboratories.

A medical worker takes a swab sample from a student for nucleic acid test in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)
A medical worker takes a swab sample from a student for nucleic acid test in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a joint statement with her Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah on October 18 that the two sides agreed that all COVID-19 vaccines are on the emergency use list (EUL) of the World Health Organization (WHO) should be treated equally and without discrimination.

Therefore, the two sides discussed the importance of recognising each other's vaccination certificates. Meanwhile, the establishment of PCR laboratories is also aimed at reducing testing errors as well as the risk of spreading the COVID-19 pandemic.

For his part, Abdullah said that the two countries had agreed to recognise each other's certificates of vaccination against COVID-19 through the synchronisation of data.