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Prabowo congratulates Trump in call before meeting Biden at White House
Prabowo is on a round-the-world trip, taking in China, the US, the APEC and G20 summits, and meeting Presidents Xi and Biden.
November 14, 2024, 07:05 PM
On Nov. 12, Indonesia’s president Prabowo Subianto met with outgoing United States President Joe Biden, following which he published a call with President-Elect Donald Trump on his social media.
Very good, the English
Prabowo arrived in the United States on Nov. 10 and published a video on Instagram on Nov. 11 showing him making a congratulatory call to President-elect Donald Trump.
Prabowo also said that he wanted to call on Trump, saying “Wherever you are, I’m willing to fly to congratulate you personally sir”.
Trump replied saying “That’s so nice, we’ll do that anytime you want”, before complimenting the job that Prabowo was doing in Indonesia, saying that he was "proud of him."
Prabowo has been president for a little under a month, having been inaugurated on Oct. 20.
Trump also commented on Prabowo’s English, saying "Your English is so good, very good the English", who responded by saying that all his training was American.
Prabowo was a military commander during the time of Indonesian strongman Suharto and completed several training courses in the U.S.
Right number
The Jakarta Post quoted Prabowo as expressing his shock at the attempt made on Trump’s life during the presidential campaign, as well as his relief that Trump survived.
Before the call ended, Prabowo again said that he hoped to soon be able to call on, meaning visit with, Trump.
Trump appears to have misheard, instead replying that Prabowo could call him any time and confirmed that the number that they were speaking on was his contact number.
Strong cooperation
On Nov. 12, Trump met with outgoing president Joe Biden at the White House.
Reuters quoted Prabowo as saying he would work hard to strengthen the Indonesian-United States relationship, and “I would like to work towards this end that we have a strong cooperation”.
Biden said that the pair had discussed climate issues as well as conflict in the Middle East and the South China Sea.
The pair also pledged in a joint statement to speed up U.S.-Indonesia talks on critical minerals, as Indonesia wants to take advantage of their wealth of mineral resources to become a source for the parts need manufacture batteries, especially those meant for electric vehicles.
Reuters reported that both men had called on all parties in Myanmar to “create conditions for dialogue”, in a bid to end the conflict that has been ongoing since 2021.
They also reiterated calls for the development of a South-China Sea code of conduct.
Straight from Beijing
The call is significant as Prabowo had travelled to the U.S. directly from Beijing, having made China his first overseas visit, and Xi Jinping the first head of state he met since being inaugurated.
China and Indonesia are economic partners, with The Jakarta Post reporting that China is heavily invested in Indonesia’s mineral sector, particularly that of the nickel sector, important in making batteries.
The Jakarta Post quoted Xi telling Prabowo that China was keen to work with Indonesia to “write a new chapter of joint self-reliance, solidarity and cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results as major developing countries.”
All around the world
Prabowo is on his first set of overseas visits since becoming president in October.
He departed Indonesia on Nov. 8 for China, meeting with China’s President Xi, before travelling directly to the United States.
According to a press release published by the Indonesian cabinet secretary, Prabowo will travel to Peru for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, before making his way to Brazil for the G20 summit.
He will visit the United Kingdom and several Middle Eastern countries on his way back to Indonesia, making it a real round-the-world trip.
He still managed to make time before setting off to welcome his first overseas leader, meeting with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong before setting off.
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Top picture via Prabowo Subianto/Instagram
