November 12

The leaders of Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to gradually resume travel between the two countries.

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Indonesian President Joko Widodo met near Jakarta on Wednesday.

After the meeting, Joko said they have agreed to make a travel corridor arrangement to boost economic recovery.

Ismail Sabri said the arrangement will start for travelers between the two countries' capitals, and between Kuala Lumpur and the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

The Malaysian government says it hopes to open the corridor early next year. Jakarta says the first travelers will be diplomats and business officials.

The Southeast Asian countries are gradually reopening their economies as coronavirus infection rates have slowed.

Indonesia and Malaysia have announced the opening of their resort islands of Bali and Langkawi to vaccinated foreign tourist from selected countries.

NHK