JAKARTA: French President Emmanuel Macron will meet his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on Wednesday (Might 28), and strengthening defence ties with Paris’ greatest arms consumer in Southeast Asia might 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 night time, mentioned the nations would signal a defence letter of intent and develop cooperation in “strategic navy {hardware}”, citing fighter jets and submarines.
The international ministry had earlier mentioned the 2 sides would focus on “present strategic partnerships” with out giving particular particulars concerning 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 sequence of agreements together with submarine improvement and ammunition.
“Some commitments want follow-up and Indonesia has proven curiosity in another navy {hardware}, however there was no progress but,” mentioned Khairul Fahmi, a navy 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.
