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Prabowo affirms friendship with Papua New Guinea after Australia visit
After his visit to Australia, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto flew to Papua New Guinea to meet with Prime Minister James Marape on Wednesday, when he affirmed Indonesia’s commitment to cooperation in various sectors such as defense and education.
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Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape (right) speaks at a joint press conference with Defence Minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto in Port Moresby on Aug. 21, 2024. (AFP/Andrew Kutan)
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fter his visit to Australia, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto flew to Papua New Guinea (PNG) to meet with Prime Minister James Marape on Wednesday, when he affirmed Indonesia’s commitment in cooperation in various sectors such as defense and education.
“I came to fulfill my promise to visit PNG as soon as possible, after Marape visited the Defense Ministry last month,” Prabowo said in a joint press conference with Marape after their meeting in Port Moresby.
Prabowo said that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had also encouraged him to pay Port Moresby a visit.
PNG has captured a considerable amount of Indonesia’s diplomatic and strategic interests in recent months, with high-level visits becoming more frequent.
PNG has in recent years been subject to influence from competing superpowers the United States and China. This, analysts say, makes PNG strategic for Indonesia to help extend its diplomacy to the region to ensure that it remains neutral.
In February, Indonesia and PNG signed a defense cooperation agreement, allowing military forces from the two countries to exchange personnel for training purposes and improving intelligence cooperation.
Prabowo said that working with PNG would be among his diplomatic priorities once taking office as president in October, emphasizing that there were “many avenues” of possible cooperation between the neighbors.
