INTRODUCTORY REMARKS OF PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA AT BILATERAL MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER OF THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND, AT THE MERDEKA PALACE, JAKARTA, ON MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2026

Your Excellency the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, Your Excellency Anutin Charnvirakul, and distinguished members of the Royal Thai delegation.

I would like once again to welcome you to Jakarta. It is a great honor to receive Your Excellency and delegation to Indonesia and I understand this is your first visit to Jakarta although you have been to Bali. Many people think Bali is the capital of Indonesia.

Your Excellency,

Also, allow me to congratulate you on your election and appointment as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand. As you know, the relationship between Indonesia and Thailand has been a long standing one. We have very good relations. We have some, maybe, commercial issues which we are determined to resolve as quick as possible and as amicably as possible. I look forward to working close with you and your government to further strengthen the long-standing partnership between Thailand and Indonesia. I think we both have strong economies as part of ASEAN. We have a significant size of population and we have common commodities that we have in common I think, rubber, tin, many others. So, I am very optimistic that we can improve our relationship in all fields.

As you know, I have a very long personal relationship with Thailand. I have a lot of Thai friends and I know Thailand quite well. I am very fond of Thailand actually.

But again, before we continue, I wish to convey our deepest condolences on behalf of Indonesia and on my personal behalf to the Royal Family and the people of Thailand on the passing of Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.

I would also like to extend my warmest birthday greetings to His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua. May His Majesty continue to be blessed with good health, happiness, and strength in leading the Kingdom of Thailand. As you know, I have a very long personal relationship with His Majesty. We were both soldiers when we were young. So, we have fond memories and actually when we meet it’s like old soldiers talking about old times.

Prime Minister,

Your visit today is indeed historic and indeed important. It is the first official visit by a Thai Prime Minister to Indonesia in 15 years. Maybe because we are so close and we have no real problems, we take things for granted and we think that, oh, it’s just yesterday, but I think maybe we should meet more often and coordinate. But, sometimes the ASEAN meetings are also very useful, for instance, in our last meeting in Cebu. Then at that time we discovered our common positions on many issues, I think. I think, for instance, as we discussed many aspects of foreign policy and international relations, we have quite common points of view.

I think it’s also timely that we convene our second leaders’ consultation. Following the elevation of Indonesia-Thailand relations to a strategic partnership during my last visit to Bangkok last year. I’m confident that today’s meeting will set a clear direction to the next phase of our partnership. This partnership, in my opinion, Mr. Prime Minister, should be forward-looking and focus on delivering tangible benefits to our peoples. If Thailand and Indonesia cooperate very closely, this can contribute to a stronger and stable ASEAN.

This means, in my opinion, we should strengthen our defence and security cooperation. We should, in my opinion, increase the number and level of joint training between our two defence forces. We should increase the exchange of our officers in training and in education. We should also expand economic opportunities through trade, investment, food and energy security. We must advance collaboration in the digital technology which will decide the future of the world, and we should foster closer connectivity and people-to-people ties. By deepening cooperation in these areas, we can further strengthen our bilateral partnership while contributing to the peace and stability and prosperity of our region.

Prime Minister,

I look forward to your remarks. Thank you.