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Prabowo's maiden overseas trip indicative of RI's active global role
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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrives on Nov. 14, 2024, at the government palace to meet with Peru's President Dina Boluarte, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Lima. (Reuters/Agustin Marcarian)
P
rabowo Subianto’s first overseas trip as president has successfully established him as an active player on the global stage, analysts have said while pointing to a series of potential partnerships inked throughout the two-week tour that reflects Indonesia’s diversified policy amid increasingly complex geopolitical dynamics.
Prabowo concluded on Sunday his maiden trip to six countries – China, the United States, Peru, Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates – during which he secured investment commitments worth a potential US$18 billion, according to his office.
The trip also included Prabowo’s debut appearance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Group of Twenty (G20) summits.
The trip came amid an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape, characterized by deepening conflicts in key areas of the world and broadening divides in the international community. It also came amid the US-China competition, a tense backdrop against which Indonesia has attempted to maintain its non-aligned stance.
Analysts have noted that Prabowo’s trip, despite producing some diplomatic commotion after his joint statement with Beijing raised questions about Indonesia’s long-standing stance on the South China Sea, has managed to promote a wide array of Jakarta’s interests. This, they said, was especially true for cooperation related to the economy, development and defense.
On the sidelines of the G20 in Brazil, for example, Prabowo cozied up to France’s Emmanuel Macron, after which delegations from the two countries discussed Indonesia’s plan to procure Rafale jet fighters and the joint venture between French Naval Group and Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL for producing submarines.
In the UK, Prabowo secured some $8.5 billion in investment commitments from several British companies, just a few days after witnessing the signing of a deal between state-owned PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) and Brazil’s aerospace giant Embraer to advance their collaboration in commercial aviation, in a bid to improve Indonesia’s aircraft maker.
