The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, held a bilateral meeting with the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ), at Qasr Al Watn, Abu Dhabi, on Saturday, November 23, 2024. The meeting marked a significant moment in strengthening the relationship between the two countries, which has already been well-established.
In his remarks, President MBZ expressed his appreciation for President Prabowo’s visit and the accompanying delegation to the UAE. He emphasized the importance of the bilateral relationship that has grown rapidly in recent years, especially in trade, investment, and development cooperation.
“Our relationship did not start today. We have known each other for many years, and I am proud of this relationship. God willing, this relationship will continue to improve and grow for the benefit of both nations and countries in the years to come,” President MBZ said.
President MBZ also highlighted several concrete achievements in the cooperation between the two countries, including a 12 percent growth in non-oil and gas trade last year, valued at around USD 4.6 billion. He expressed optimism that the target of USD 10 billion in trade could be achieved through the implementation of a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement and the use of local currencies in bilateral transactions.
Furthermore, the UAE and Indonesia have also established cooperation in various strategic sectors such as renewable energy, climate action, artificial intelligence, education, and food security. “All of this ensures that we are starting today from a strong foundation. God willing, we will strengthen this foundation even more, expand the scope of cooperation, and take advantage of every available opportunity,” President MBZ stated.
Meanwhile, President Prabowo, in his remarks, expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome extended by the government and people of the UAE. He reaffirmed Indonesia’s commitment to continuing this good relationship under his leadership.
“My priorities in the government I lead going forward are first, to ensure food security and resilience; second, energy resilience; and third, to implement the downstream processing of all our raw materials in Indonesia to add value. We can work in several fields and we would like to invite the UAE to actively participate in our economy,” President Prabowo said.
President Prabowo also appreciated the UAE’s support for the establishment of Indonesia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (INA) and expressed his desire to increase INA’s role in supporting national development. In the field of humanitarian work, President Prabowo thanked the UAE for its initiative in involving Indonesia in the humanitarian mission in Gaza.
“We thank you for this cooperation, for your Excellency’s initiative to involve us, we are very grateful,” President Prabowo said.
The meeting concluded with an agreement to enhance coordination at the technical, implementation, and follow-up levels to accelerate the implementation of the cooperation agreements that have been planned. Both leaders also agreed that the Indonesia-UAE relationship is a strong foundation for promoting peace, stability, and mutual progress on the international stage.
“This shows that our relationship is very good, and I continue to want cooperation and consultation with Your Excellency,” President Prabowo stated. (BPMI Setpres/ABD)
