President Prabowo, President MBZ Agree to Strengthen Economic Relations, Strategic Cooperation

President Prabowo Subianto holds a bilateral meeting with President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) at Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi, Saturday (11/23). (Photo by: Bureau of Press, Media, and Information (BPMI) of the Presidential Secretariat/Muchlis Jr)

President Prabowo Subianto held a bilateral meeting with President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) at Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi, Saturday (11/23). The meeting served as a momentum to strengthen the relationship between the two countries that has been well established so far.

In his remarks, President MBZ expressed his appreciation for the visit of President Prabowo and his delegation to the UAE. He emphasized the importance of both countries’ bilateral relations that have developed rapidly in recent years, especially in the fields of trade, investment, and development cooperation.

“Our relationship has not just started recently. We have known each other for years, and I am proud of this relationship. God willing, this relationship will continue to improve and develop for both nations and countries in the years to come,” said President MBZ.

President MBZ also highlighted several concrete achievements resulting from the cooperation between the two countries, including the growth of non-oil and gas trade that reached 12 percent last year worth around US$4.6 billion. He was optimistic that the trade target of US$10 billion can be achieved through the implementation of a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement and the use of local currencies in bilateral transactions.

Additionally, the UAE and Indonesia have also established collaborations in various strategic sectors such as renewable energy, climate action, artificial intelligence, education, and food security. “All of those collaborations ensure that currently, we are starting from a solid foundation. God willing, we will further strengthen this foundation, expand the scope of our cooperation, and use every available opportunity,” said President MBZ.

Meanwhile, President Prabowo in his remarks also expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome from the UAE Government and people. He emphasized Indonesia’s commitment to continuing this good relationship under his leadership.

“My government’s priority in the future is first to ensure food safety and security, second to ensure energy security, and then to implement downstream processing of all our raw materials in Indonesia in order to gain added value. We can establish collaborations in several fields, and we want to invite the UAE to actively participate in our economy,” said President Prabowo.

President Prabowo also appreciated the UAE’s support for the establishment of the Indonesian sovereign wealth fund (INA) and expressed his interest in expanding INA’s role in supporting national development. In the humanitarian sector, President Prabowo expressed his gratitude for the UAE’s initiative to involve Indonesia in the humanitarian mission in Gaza.

“We would like to express our gratitude for this cooperation and for the initiative of Your Majesty to involve us. We are very grateful,” said President Prabowo.

The meeting was concluded with an agreement to improve both countries’ coordination at the technical, operational, and follow-up levels in order to accelerate the implementation of the cooperation that has been designed. The two leaders also agreed that the relationship between Indonesia and the UAE serves as a strong foundation for promoting peace, stability, and joint progress in the international arena.

“This signifies that our relationship is very good, and I would always like to cooperate and have consultations with Your Majesty,” said President Prabowo. (BPMI of the Presidential Secretariat/ABD)