Jakarta. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and President Prabowo Subianto agreed Friday to work together on preventing the Iran war from causing further repercussions on global shipping routes.

The US-Israel war on Iran is about to hit its one-month mark. Anwar made a quick visit to Jakarta to discuss the fighting that had led to a global energy crunch. As expected, the Strait of Hormuz — which Iran has a stranglehold on — became a subject matter during the discussions. 

In a social media post, Anwar announced that he and Prabowo “had agreed to intensify diplomatic efforts” to defuse the conflict, protect civilians, and open space for peaceful negotiations.

“At the same time, we must make sure that the continuity of global supply chains and strategic trade routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, is unaffected,” Anwar said. 

Anwar also told Prabowo of his communication with other foreign leaders in navigating the war’s blow on energy and regional security. In a separate post, Anwar also said that the bilateral cooperation with Jakarta had “increasingly become more important amid global uncertainties.” 

Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya revealed that the Prabowo-Anwar talks had lasted for roughly three hours.

The Strait of Hormuz carries around a quarter of the global seaborne oil trade. Shipping in this body of water has ground to a halt after the US-Israeli coordinated airstrikes on Tehran on Feb. 28. The blockade has left countless oil tankers stranded, thereby throwing energy supplies into chaos. Indonesia, too, is trying to plug the gap left by the two stranded tankers belonging to the state oil giant Pertamina.

Just recently, Anwar announced in a televised speech that Kuala Lumpur had secured Iran’s green light for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Vahd Nabyl A Mulachela said Friday that Indonesia had been trying to convince the Iranian authorities into letting the Pertamina vessels pass in the strait. The discussions have finally “yielded a positive response from Iran”, according to Nabyl.

“The relevant parties are currently following up on the technical and operational aspects,” Nabyl told the Jakarta Globe.

The strait is a small strip of water that provides the only way out of the Persian Gulf.