Joint Press Statement of President of the Republic of Indonesia and Prime Minister of Thailand at the Government House, Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, May 19, 2025

Your Excellency Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand,

Your Excellency Paetongtarn Shinawatra,
Distinguished Ministers of the Government of Thailand,
Officials from Indonesia and Thailand,
Our journalist friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon.

Let me begin by expressing my sincere appreciation to Your Excellency Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra for the warm welcome extended to me and the Indonesian delegation.

It is a great honor and pleasure for me to be in Thailand today. I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua King Rama X and Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana for the gracious reception granted to me earlier today.

Indonesia and Thailand share a long-standing and profound friendship. We have maintained diplomatic relations for 75 years. This visit marks the first official visit by an Indonesian President to Thailand in 20 years. It is an honor for me personally. Our bilateral ties have now evolved into a strategic partnership.

Your Excellency,

Todays inaugural leaders’ consultation is a testament to the strength of our relations. As fellow ASEAN member states, both our countries hold significant responsibilities. Earlier today, we discussed the foundations of our strategic partnership across various sectors, including security and defense, trade and investment, food and energy security, as well as regional and global issues. On security and defense cooperation, we discussed transnational crimes, particularly online scam syndicates, human trafficking, and narcotics smuggling.

I would like to thank Thailand for its decisive actions in handling these matters and for assisting Indonesia in the repatriation of our citizens. We agreed to further enhance our security cooperation through more intensive engagement and dialogue at both the senior leadership and agency-to-agency levels. We also aim to strengthen maritime security collaboration, intensify counter-terrorism efforts, deepen cyber security cooperation, increase joint military exercises, and promote defense industry partnerships. We will make the most of platforms such as the High-Level Committee and the Annual Security Dialogue.

In economic cooperation, Indonesia and Thailand have reaffirmed the commitment to strengthening trade and investment relations. Bilateral trade has reached 18 billion US dollars, but we are determined to increase this further. We also seek to promote halal industry development and standardization, as well as cooperation in the digital economy, including fintech, e-commerce, and digital infrastructure. We are committed to convening the first Joint Trade Commission in the near future and to strengthening cooperation between Thai investment agencies and Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, Danantara. We also welcome enhanced cooperation in the aviation sector, including the development of joint technologies in this field.

On food security, our focus will be on securing supply chains and joint ventures in food management and storage.

In the field of energy security, Indonesia welcomes the participation of Thai entities in our energy sector. We also plan to reconvene the Indonesia–Thailand Energy Forum later this year.

In people-to-people cooperation, we are committed to deepening ties in education, tourism, and healthcare. We have just witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in the health sector to enhance our cooperation and capacity. This is an important step in preparing for potential future pandemics. We are also committed to strengthening development cooperation through collaboration between Indonesian Aid and the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA).

At the regional and global levels, Indonesia and Thailand share concerns and a commitment to address pressing issues. We call for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine. We also support humanitarian access and reaffirm that peace process must be pursued through a two-state solution.

We also discussed the ongoing crisis in Myanmar. Indonesia appreciates and values Thailand’s constructive role, particularly in engaging neighboring countries in pursuit of a peaceful solution and facilitating dialogue among all stakeholders. We reaffirm the importance of an inclusive national dialogue to achieve peace and stability in Myanmar, as well as the need to uphold ASEAN unity and centrality. On BRICS, Indonesia fully supports Thailand’s aspiration to become a member and stands ready to assist in facilitating this endeavor.

Distinguished members of the media, Your Excellency,

Once again, let me extend my deepest gratitude to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra for the very fruitful discussions today. I have also extended an invitation to Your Excellency.  We look forward to Your Excellency’s visit to Jakarta in the near future. Moreover, I have also conveyed an invitation to His Majesty the King of Thailand to visit Indonesia.

I thank you.

(AY/EP)