JAKARTA: French President Emmanuel Macron will meet his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on Wednesday (Might 28), and strengthening defence ties with Paris’ largest arms shopper in Southeast Asia will likely be outstanding of their talks.
Indonesia is the second leg of Macron’s regional trip after Vietnam, the place the 2 nations signed deals value over US$10 billion. He’s scheduled to fly to Singapore on Thursday.
Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, who welcomed Macron on his arrival on Tuesday evening, mentioned the nations would signal a defence letter of intent and develop cooperation in “strategic army {hardware}”, citing fighter jets and submarines.
The overseas ministry had earlier mentioned the 2 sides would focus on “current strategic partnerships” with out giving particular particulars in regards to the areas of dialogue.
In 2022, the 2 nations signed a US$8.1 billion defence deal that included an order for 42 Rafale fighter jets made by France’s Dassault Aviation, in addition to a collection of agreements together with submarine growth and ammunition.
“Some commitments want follow-up and Indonesia has proven curiosity in another army {hardware}, however there was no progress but,” mentioned Khairul Fahmi, a army professional at Indonesia-based Institute for Safety and Strategic Research.
No Rafale jets have been delivered to Indonesia but. The chief of the Indonesian Air Pressure Mohamad Tonny Harjono mentioned in February that six jets would arrive in Indonesia in early 2026, state information company Antara reported.
