Joint Press Statement of President of the Republic of Indonesia and President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Thursday, October 23, 2025
President of the Republic of Indonesia (Prabowo Subianto)
Your Excellency, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, and the First Lady,
Honorable Ministers and Members of the Brazilian and Indonesian delegations,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished members of the Press.
Today, we have the honor of receiving a state visit from President of the Federative Republic of Brazil.
This marks President Lula’s second state visit to Indonesia, following his first visit back in 2008, and it is also our third meeting. Two months ago, I also undertook a state visit to Brasilia on July 9, 2025.
We held intensive and productive discussions. Both countries are two rising economic powers and important members of the Global South.
Our cooperation, therefore, carries strategic significance, and both of us attach great importance to this partnership. Following our in-depth discussions, we are determined to strengthen and expand our collaboration across all sectors.
In the trade sector, we agreed on the importance of further expanding our bilateral trade.
In the technology sector, we will continue to learn from one another.
In the agricultural sector, we have made a significant progress and are looking forward to deepening our cooperation in the sector.
In the defense sector, Brazil also has a highly advanced defense industry. Indonesia has been utilizing several defense equipment systems from Brazil for some time, and we are planning to continue expanding our cooperation in this area. We already have a Defense Cooperation Agreement with Brazil, which is currently undergoing ratification.
As I previously mentioned, we also reached an agreement in the energy sector. Earlier, we signed a significant energy agreement involving the state-owned electricity company PLN and private companies.
In science and research, we have also advanced our cooperation.
In general, we have agreed on the goal of moving toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), similar to the agreements we have established with the European Union and Canada.
Brazil has also expressed its support for this initiative, given that it currently leads Mercosur.
We hope this support will continue. In many areas, we see highly complementary actions that reinforce one another.
On the international stage, we share common positions on multilateral relations across strategic areas, including politics, economics, industry, and trade.
Thus, we will continue to cooperate on international political affairs.
As members of BRICS and the G20, we both aim to deepen our partnership.
Today, we witnessed the signing of significant economic cooperation agreements, with the potential value of the agreements reaching over US$5 billion.
Meanwhile, our total annual investment is around US$20 billion. If these agreements are fully realized, inshaallah, by next year at the latest, this will amount to 5 out of 40, meaning that today’s discussion concerns almost 20 percent, or 20-25 percent, of the total direct investment in Indonesia.
That concludes my remarks.
I support Brazil’s COP30 presidency and its initiatives. They have established an investment fund to help preserve forests, especially tropical forests.
And, I have stated that Indonesia supports this effort. Since Brazil has taken the lead, we will support Brazil, and whatever amount Brazil commits to invest, Indonesia will also participate by contributing to that fund.
Please accept my apology that I might not be able to attend COP30 in Belém, Brazil, but I will send a capable delegation to attend it and to show our support for Brazil’s initiatives.
I think that’s all.
In international politics, we support each other. Our stands are aligned on the issue of Palestine, as well as on Ukraine, we both want an immediate ceasefire. We seek real peace that leads to a political solution, specifically the two-state solution.
I think that’s it. Once again, we are very pleased with his presence. I just found out that he and I share the same lucky number, number 8. We were also both born in October. My birthday is on October 17, and his is on October 27, if I’m not mistaken. So, his falls on the 27th, and mine on the 17th, and we agreed to meet halfway on the night of the 23rd.
In a way, we will be celebrating our birthdays together tonight, if the First Lady of Brazil allows it. If she does, we will celebrate tonight, right in the middle. It turns out we have a lot in common. Perhaps it is fate that we are meant to work together now, to stand together, and advance the welfare of our peoples.
I’d like to say here that I am an admirer of him because he has led longer than I have. This is his third term. He has served three terms, three periods. Under our laws, that wouldn’t be possible for me.
I think that’s all from me. Thank you, President Lula, for your leadership in BRICS. Under your leadership, Indonesia was accepted into BRICS in record time. We submitted our application in October, and by January, it had already been approved. So once again, thank you very much.
We now wish to strengthen our relations further as there is still much for us to learn. Given the significance of this relation, I have decided that the Portuguese language will become a priority language in our education system as we seek to strengthen our ties even further.
In addition to English, Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, French, German, and Russian, Portuguese will become a priority language for us, along with Spanish.
That concludes my statement.
Thank you, President Lula. (FI/EP)