KUALA LUMPUR — The leaders of Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to appoint special envoys to explore ways to settle contentious territorial disputes, as both sides took cautious small steps to improve a key bilateral relation in South-east Asia. The agreement was announced after talks between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday as the former made his first official visit to Malaysia.

The countries also reached agreement on the enforcement of illegal fishing in shared waters as well as measures to refine the recruitment process of Indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia. Malaysian national car maker Proton announced that it would be helping to build Indonesia’s national car.

“We agreed to appoint special envoys, so issues on maritime borders can be settled, as they have remained unresolved for too long,” Mr Widodo told a joint press conference held together with Mr Najib after yesterday morning’s meeting.

…Mr Yang Razali Kassim, a senior fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told TODAY that Mr Widodo’s visit to Malaysia was “part of a process, an ongoing attempt by both sides to manage and grow their bilateral relationship”. “What was important about this visit and its outcome is that both leaders have re-established a common understanding to resolve hiccups in bilateral ties, especially on two fronts: Border disputes and migrant workers,” he said.