JAKARTA: Indonesia’s President, Prabowo Subianto, and French President, Emmanuel Macron, have agreed to maintain strong economic and trade cooperation in the wake of United States President Donald Trump imposing reciprocal tariffs on several countries.
According to ANTARA news agency, the two leaders expressed their commitment to sustaining good bilateral relations during a telephone conversation on Friday night (April 4), two days after President Trump announced the import tariff policy.
Prabowo, in a post on his social media account @prabowo, which was accessed from here on Saturday, said that the strategic cooperation between Indonesia and France not only reflects their national interests, but also contributes to the stability and prosperity of the region and the world.
“In my discussion with French President Emmanuel Macron, we agreed to continue promoting inclusive and sustainable economic development for the welfare of our people,” Prabowo said.
He then welcomed France’s commitment to strengthen the solid and visionary bilateral partnership between the two countries.
“Let’s enhance our synergy and build a future for mutual progress,” he added.
Separately, President Macron posted about his conversation with President Prabowo on his official social media account @EmmanuelMacron.
“We have decided to strengthen the relationship between our countries with ambitious and forward-looking projects. This historic approach we are preparing will come into realisation during my state visit to Indonesia at the end of May,” Macron said.
He added that he and President Prabowo agreed to deepen cooperation in defence, economy, science, and culture, as well as expand the scope of collaboration in education.
During their conversation, Prabowo and Macron reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the realisation of peace in the Middle East and ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
