TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A total of 160 Indonesian detainees boarded a special flight Friday (Feb. 5), allowing them to spend the Lunar New Year with their families in their home country.

The release was a consequence of a 2012 Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries promoting the joint fight against people smuggling, the Liberty Times reported.

One of the measures included in the agreement was bilateral assistance in immigration matters. For the head of the Indonesian representative office in Taipei’s immigration department, Jerry Risnandar, it was the first such mission since taking office last December.

He assisted the authorities in arranging the special charter flight by Indonesia’s Batik Airlines to take his fellow citizens home. Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency (NIA) said it would continue to cooperate with the Indonesian office in order to improve the lives of nationals from both countries.