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Prabowo makes surprise visit to PM Albanese ahead of bilateral talks
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Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (center) inspects a guard of honor upon his arrival at the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in Jakarta on May 14, on his first overseas visit after being re-elected. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto made a surprise visit to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at his hotel in Jakarta on Wednesday night, in a gesture of friendship ahead of their bilateral talks.
Prabowo arrived at the hotel at around 8.30 p.m., shortly after attending the opening session of the 19th conference of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC) at the House of Representatives building.
The Australian Prime Minister, who had landed in Jakarta just two hours earlier, welcomed Prabowo in the hotel lobby. The two leaders greeted each other before moving to a private venue for closed-door, informal discussions.
Prabowo’s surprise visit to Albanese at his accommodation, despite the former’s packed schedule, underscored Indonesia’s “deep respect for Australia and signaled Jakarta’s recognition of Canberra as a key partner in the region”, according to a press release from the Presidential Secretariat.
The two leaders will hold formal talks on Thursday to discuss defense cooperation and global trade.
Read also: Prabowo, Albanese to strengthen ties in Jakarta visit
Albanese’s visit to Jakarta comes amid global economic upheaval, sparked by United States President Donald Trump and his tariff policy, which has further destabilized the global economic system already hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and wars in Europe and the Middle East.
