Prabowo Meets China Foreign Affairs Minister to Discuss Enhancing Defense Cooperation

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Defense minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto on Thursday, April 18, received a visit from Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Defense Ministry’s Office in Jakarta. The two senior officials discussed strengthening defense cooperation between their countries.

Earlier in the morning, Wang had first met with President Joko Widodo or Jokowi at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.

Thanking Wang for his visit, Prabowo said that China is a close partner of Indonesia as the two countries have long enjoyed close bilateral ties, especially in the defense sector.

"It is an honor for me to receive His Excellency today, and I thank him for welcoming me to Beijing a few weeks ago," Prabowo said in an official statement.

A number of issues were discussed during Prabowo and Wang's meeting, namely bilateral defense cooperation such as education and training cooperation, joint exercises, and the defense industry.

Wang Yi also expressed his gratitude for Prabowo's recent visit to China. "We greatly appreciate and welcome Defense Minister Prabowo's visit to China," Wang said.

Wang said China is committed to further expanding bilateral cooperation with Indonesia, both in defense and other fields such as economic, social and cultural.

Prabowo was in China on an official visit from March 31 to April 2, his first overseas visit as president-elect. He met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun to discuss commitments to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

YOHANES MAHARSO | DANIEL A. FAJRI

Editor's Choice: Apple CEO Tim Cook Meets Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News