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View all search resultsGermany courts Indo-Pacific partners during FM’s Jakarta visit
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul wooed countries in the Indo-Pacific to deepen cooperation with Germany and uphold free and rule-based trade and diplomacy during his two-day visit to Jakarta.
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German Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul delivers a speech on Aug. 20, 2025 titled 'Germany's Foreign Policy Outlook on the Indo-Pacific: Positioning Germany and Indonesia in a Changing World Order' during a Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) event in Jakarta. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
G
ermany has reasserted its interest in establishing a stronger presence in Southeast Asia, with its foreign minister Johann Wadephul underscoring the urgency of closer cooperation on the political, economic and security levels during his visit to Jakarta this week.
Berlin has expanded its strategic engagement plans in the region and stands ready to be a reliable partner that champions “freedom, security and prosperity”, the minister emphasized.
Wadephul was on his debut visit to Asia, stopping in Berlin’s key partners Japan and Indonesia to deepen Germany’s economic security as well as its political and trade ties beyond Europe.
His two-country tour, months after Germany’s May general election that brought Friedrich Merz into the chancellery, comes amid the country’s push to diversify partnerships and recalibrate its foreign policy, a focus sparked by mounting uncertainty due to conflicts and waning diplomacy.
The new German government placed the Indo-Pacific at a high diplomatic priority and was eager to be working with ASEAN to uphold free and rule-based trade, stability, territorial integrity and international law, Wadephul said during his engagements in Jakarta on Wednesday and Thursday.
“We are meeting at a time when Europeans and Asians are facing a multitude of new challenges together, from the eroding respect of international law to the imperialist rhetoric and actions of certain powers, [such as] military conflicts that are shutting down trade routes,” the minister said at a panel hosted by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) on Wednesday.
