Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto during his arrival at the hotel where he would be staying in Paris on May 26. (SEA Daily/Amanda Laticia)
On May 27, the second day of his bilateral visit to France, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto began his morning by performing the Eid al Adha prayer at the Indonesian Embassy residence in Paris. He greeted Indonesian citizens and members of the diaspora in attendance before gathering with them for a communal meal, in an engagement intended both to mark the Feast of Sacrifice and to reinforce ties with overseas Indonesians.
In a written statement issued ahead of the President’s arrival on May 26, Foreign Minister Sugiono said the two leaders were set to “announce a shared desire to elevate bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” a step he framed as reflecting “the growing importance of Indonesia and France to each other amid global uncertainty.” Sugiono added that the visit stemmed from “an invitation from French President Macron that was actually delayed,” and that Macron had extended the invitation once again during President Prabowo’s mid-April trip to Paris.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry and the Presidential Cabinet Office had yet to release a full agenda for the remainder of the day at the time of writing.
The trip is President Prabowo’s third visit to France this year, following meetings with Macron on January 23-24 and April 13-14. Neither of the earlier visits produced signed agreements, but discussions covered defence procurement, energy, infrastructure, trade and education, with Foreign Minister Sugiono previously describing the rapport between the two leaders as a “very close personal relationship.”
Defence cooperation has been the most concrete pillar of the bilateral track. Jakarta has signed a procurement deal for 42 Dassault Rafale multirole fighter aircraft, with the first six delivered in January, alongside agreements to acquire Scorpene submarines. Following the April visit, Sugiono signalled that Jakarta was looking beyond off-the-shelf procurement, telling reporters on April 22 that Indonesia did “not want to simply procure French-made defence equipment, but also to receive transfer of technology and be the beneficiary of the technologies we are acquiring.” A defence-related announcement is therefore among the deliverables anticipated before the visit concludes.
The elevation to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which is Indonesia’s highest tier of bilateral framework, would place France alongside a small group of Jakarta’s most institutionalised partners, and formalise a trajectory that the frequency of presidential meetings this year has already made evident.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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