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Prabowo to assert foreign policy agenda to the world
Knowing the strategic role that the US, India and South Korea play in the world and in the region, Prabowo should travel there so as to avoid unnecessary misperceptions.
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Close neighbors: President-elect Prabowo Subianto (right) meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House in Canberra on Aug. 20, 2024. (Reuters/AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)
P
resident-elect Prabowo Subianto is reportedly gearing up for a trip to the United States, where he will address the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of outgoing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who is opting to skip the multilateral gathering for the 10th time. Prabowo, as a senior diplomat put it, will seize the rare opportunity to “unveil his international vision and agenda”.
As a culmination of his introductory visits to many of Indonesia’s major partners before assuming power in October, this time around Prabowo should also stop by Washington DC, New Delhi and Seoul. He received congratulatory phone calls from President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Yoon Suk-yeol for winning the Feb. 14 election, but has not met them in person.
In fact, since his electoral triumph, Prabowo has visited Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who lead three permanent members of the UN Security Council. Just recently Prabowo visited Australia to sign a new defense cooperation agreement with the key US ally.
Knowing the strategic role that the US, India and South Korea play in the world and in the region, Prabowo should travel there so as to avoid unnecessary misperceptions.
A meeting with lame-duck President Biden may be less interesting. Prabowo could also pay a courtesy visit to both Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, who will square off in the November election.
A senior official said President Jokowi has decided to squander his last chance to attend the UNGA, but has approved Prabowo’s overseas trips to the US, including to New York City – which hosts the UN Headquarters – as well as India and South Korea.
The outcome of the US election does not matter to Prabowo. But knowing his background as a former Army general, he will feel more comfortable dealing with the Republican administration rather than the Democrats, who tend to “interfere” more with other countries’ domestic affairs.
