Indonesia’s 7th President Jokowi Lauds President Prabowo’s Leadership
President Prabowo Subianto pays a visit to the residence of Indonesia’s 7th President Joko Widodo, in Surakarta city, Central Java province, Sunday (07/20). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat)
Indonesia’s 7th President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo expressed his deep appreciation to President Prabowo Subianto for his performance, particularly in showing fruitful economic diplomacy for the country.
The statement was made by the former president after receiving a visit from President Prabowo at his private residence in Surakarta city, Central Java province, Sunday (07/20).
In that meeting, Jokowi also lauded the success of President Prabowo’s administration in finalizing the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) and lowering export tariffs imposed by the United States.
“Mr. President told me about the agreement with the European Union, namely IEU-CEPA. He also shared about the negotiation for tariff determination with President Trump. I believe these are remarkable achievement,” he said.
He underscored that negotiation process for the IEU-CEPA had been running for ten years and was very challenging, but was successfully concluded by President Prabowo through a smart and determined personal approach.
“So in the future, trade will eventually be subject to 0 percent tariffs,” he added.
According to Jokowi, this achievement will significantly enhance the competitiveness of Indonesian products in the European market. In addition, a similar approach taken by President Prabowo with President Donald Trump also had a major impact on Indonesia’s market access in the United States.
“Another personal approach, a phone call with President Trump and its lengthy conversation finally led us to tariff reduction from 32 (percent) to 19 (percent). It’s such a remarkable achievement since 19 (percent) is among the lowest tariffs in ASEAN,” he explained.
Jokowi further praised President Prabowo for being able to secure low export tariffs for Indonesia amid unfavorable global economic condition.
Also on that occasion, the former president expressed his satisfaction with strategic measures and directions taken by President Prabowo.
“Based on the data, the approval rating is still very high, meaning that the public appreciates his work, which is reflected in the results of approval rating, and it’s a good thing,” he concluded. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (RAS/MUR)
