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Prabowo builds rapport with next US administration
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President Prabowo Subianto (left), accompanied by his son Didit Hediprasetyo, arrives at the Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, the United States, on Nov. 10, 2024. Prabowo is scheduled to hold a series of meetings with his US counterpart Joe Biden on Tuesday. (Antara Foto/Hafidz Mubarak A )
P
resident Prabowo Subianto posted a video of his phone call with Donald Trump, during a working visit to Washington, DC, saying that he was willing to travel to Florida to meet the president-elect in person amid an ongoing effort to solidify his American rapport.
It was posted on Prabowo’s social media account just one day before his scheduled meeting with outgoing US President Joe Biden on Tuesday Washington time. The phone call saw Trump compliment the former Army general as a “very respected person”, also assuring him that he could “call anytime [he] wants”.
“I would like to congratulate you on your election as president of the United States of America,” Prabowo told Trump, as seen in the video Prabowo posted on his social media account.
“Wherever you are I’m willing to fly to congratulate you personally, sir.”
“That’s so nice,” Trump replied. “Great job you’re doing in Indonesia. Proud of you, and your English is so good.”
Arriving at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland outside Washington on Monday, just days after Trump’s presidential victory, Prabowo, who was on stop two of a five-legged inaugural overseas tour, was set to meet with an array of Washington’s higher-ups to discuss future US-Indonesia relations amid persisting global tensions.
While Prabowo’s busy foreign itinerary has been widely perceived as an intentional display of his attempt to balance Indonesia’s relations with polarized powers, analysts suggested that his Washington stop was especially worth monitoring, given the previous administration’s lukewarm ties with the US and mounting hopes for a more balanced approach in Jakarta.
