PM Wong visits Indonesia, meets President Prabowo

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong met with Indonesia’s new president Prabowo Subianto on Nov. 6, during his introductory visit to Indonesia.

It was his first visit to Indonesia as prime minister over Nov. 5 and 6, where he also met vice president Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

PM Wong took over the prime minister role in May 2024.

Deeply invested in Indonesia’s success

PM Wong, speaking at a joint press conference, thanked Prabowo for hosting him so soon after his inauguration, saying that the president had charted out a full agenda, and complimenting his “energy and determination” to lead Indonesia to “an even brighter future”.

Singapore wanted Indonesia to succeed and was “deeply invested in Indonesia’s success”.

Antara News quoted Prabowo as saying that PM Wong’s visit was “very meaningful”, as it was the first official visit he had received from a foreign guest since his inauguration.

He said both leaders shared similar views on many issues, “especially on ensuring peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.”

Strong foundations

PM Wong paid tribute to both his and Prabowo’s predecessors, saying that they had worked to build a very strong foundation in the bilateral relationship, allowing both countries to resolve long-standing issues, and “resolve them in a way of mutual cooperation and mutual benefit”.

The pair held discussions on a range of policy issues, including defence, trade and investment, and collaboration in areas such as food security.

The pair spoke about taking the defence relationship even further, and PM Wong thanked Prabowo for his leadership in bringing the Defence Cooperation Agreement into being and then into force.

Singapore and Indonesia would continue to facilitate more trade, investment flows, as well as wanting to see cooperation in new areas, such as digital technology and healthcare.

The pair also spoke about energy security, having “good discussions” on how the two countries can work together on clean energy and sustainability.

PM Wong said the sector could be a growth engine for both countries, especially when “we realise cross border energy exports, as well as cross-border carbon capture and storage projects in the coming years”.

Singapore was very happy to support Prabowo’s plans for human capital development, and would ramp up exchanges and training programmes between Singaporean and Indonesian students, teachers, officials, and young professionals, PM Wong added.

Troubling era

They also discussed events going on in the wider global environment, with PM Wong saying that “We are entering a more troubling era in global affairs”.

“But Indonesia and Singapore share many common strategic perspectives of the world.

We both want to be friends to all. We both want to be good neighbours.”

PM Wong said strong ties between the two countries would not just help the bilateral relationship, but provide pathfinders to accelerate Asean integration.

This would make for a stronger and more united Asean, which would in turn allow the region to prosper, and provide a more conducive environment for its people.

Third time's the charm

Despite this being his introductory visit, this is actually PM Wong’s third trip to Indonesia and his fourth meeting with Prabowo this year.

He previously met with him during Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and previous president Joko Widodo final Indonesia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat, where PM Wong and Prabowo were both in attendance.

They met again in July when Prabowo attended the IISS Shangri-La dialogue, and once more in October when PM Wong attended Prabowo’s inauguration.

This is the beginning of a busy period for Prabowo, who is heading to China and the United States in the coming weeks, where he will meet with China's president Xi Jinping, and may meet with president-elect Donald Trump.

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Top image via Lawrence Wong/Facebook