Indonesia and Singapore will set up a joint working group to track down companies involved in forest fires

China News Service, Jakarta, October 27 (Reporter Li Zhiquan) Indonesia and Singapore agreed to establish a joint working group on the 27th to strengthen information sharing and cross-border investigation cooperation and track down companies suspected of being related to forest and land fires.

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan visited Jakarta that day and met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Almanata Nasir. After the meeting, both parties jointly held a press conference.

Almanata said that Indonesia is willing to strengthen cooperation with Singapore and other countries to hold companies involved in forest fires accountable in accordance with the law. Vivian said that Singapore agreed to establish the working group, believing that this move would help strengthen operational coordination and information sharing between the two countries, and form a deterrent to non-compliance companies.

Recently, haze caused by forest and land fires in Indonesia has spread to neighboring countries. Almanata said that the Indonesian people are the first victims of this haze. The Indonesian government has prioritized forest and land fire control and deployed approximately 71,000 ground personnel in key provinces to carry out fire-fighting operations.

In addition to the haze issue, both sides are also facing issues such as natural gas supply adjustments in the near future. Indonesia has cut some natural gas exports to Singapore since October 24. During the meeting, both sides agreed to strengthen communication between ministerial and senior officials.