WASHINGTON: Indonesia’s 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 by phone during an official visit to Washington.
” I did work very hard to develop Indonesian-United States relation, and I would like to work towards this end that we have a solid assistance”, said Prabowo.
After recording a picture of his visit to Trump, Prabowo met with Biden in the Oval Office, where he has stated that he will continue to pursue a non-aligned international policy.
He arrived in Washington right away from China, where he had met with President Xi Jinping on his first international trip since taking office last quarter.
Indonesia, the most populous nation in Southeast Asia, is seen by Washington as a significant partner in a place with Beijing, which has close ties to both countries. Indonesia is also the world’s most populous Muslim-majority land.
Jakarta wants to sell more of its mines ‘ metals, and it is a significant financial partner to Indonesia because China is a major consumer of US weapons.
Biden claimed that the leaders were talking about culture, Middle East, and South China Sea issue at the White House.
Despite negotiating a seafaring development agreement with Beijing, Indonesia said on Monday that it does not accept China’s states that the majority of the South China Sea is in the hands of Indonesia.
At a click conference, White House spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre stated that” we continue to encourage Indonesia to work with their lawful authorities to ensure that any deal they reach with the People’s Republic of China is compliant with global rules, particularly the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea.”
TRUMP CALL
Prabowo’s business said he made the call to Trump on Monday after arriving in Washington. When questioned about whether Trump is scheduled to meet with him in people, it did not respond right away.
” Wherever you are, I’m willing to fly to thank you physically, sir”, Prabowo said in the picture of the phone posted on his social media accounts.
” We’ll do that, whenever you want”, Trump replied.
Trump described his own vote victory as wonderful, and said it gave him a great authority.
He even said the Indonesian president was “very respected”, and praised his English, to which Prabowo, a former special forces chief, replied:” All my teaching is American, sir”.
According to his company, Prabowo also met with representatives from many US companies in Washington, including Chevron and Freeport McMoRan, and urged them to make investments in Indonesia.