Indonesian president meets Biden and speaks with Trump, promises cooperation

WASHINGTON: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto met with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday (Nov 12) and offered his congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump over the phone during an official visit to Washington.

“I will work very hard to strengthen relations between Indonesia and the United States, and I would like to work towards this goal so that we can build strong cooperation,” Prabowo said.

Prabowo, who has said he will pursue a non-aligned foreign policy, met with Biden in the Oval Office after posting a video of his call to Trump.

He arrived in Washington directly from China, where he had met President Xi Jinping on his first foreign trip since taking office last month.

Washington views Indonesia, the most populous country in Southeast Asia, as an important partner in a region where rival Beijing has close trade and investment ties. Indonesia is also the most populous Muslim-majority country in the world.

While China is an important economic partner for Indonesia, Jakarta has also become a major buyer of US weapons and the West wants to sell more metals from its mines.

At the White House, Biden said the two leaders discussed climate, conflicts in the Middle East and the South China Sea.

Indonesia said on Monday it does not recognize China’s claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea. despite the signing of a maritime development agreement with Beijing.

“We continue to encourage Indonesia to work with their legal experts to ensure that any agreement they enter into with (the People’s Republic of China) complies with international law, in particular the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ,” said a White House spokesperson. Karine Jean-Pierre during a press conference.

TRUMP CALL

Prabowo’s office said this He called Trump on Monday after arriving in Washington. There was no immediate response to a question about whether he would meet with Trump in person.

“Wherever you are, I am ready to fly to congratulate you personally, sir,” Prabowo said in the video of the conversation posted on his social media accounts.

“We will do that whenever you want,” Trump replied.

Trump described his own election victory as astonishing and said it gave him a big mandate.

He also said the Indonesian president was “highly respected” and praised his English, to which Prabowo, a former special forces commander, replied: “All my training is American, sir.”

Prabowo also met with several representatives of US companies in Washington, his office said, including from Freeport McMoRan and energy company Chevron, and urged the companies to invest in Indonesia.