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Resty Woro Yuniar

Indonesia’s deepening ties with France have given President Prabowo Subianto a chance to advance Jakarta’s defence modernisation, strengthen relations with Europe and expand its international footprint.
But analysts say the Paris visit has also fuelled a debate at home on whether deals and diplomatic goodwill arising from Prabowo’s frequent foreign trips can translate into benefits for ordinary Indonesians.
Prabowo, who has visited France four times as president, met his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, when the two leaders agreed to boost ties in defence, clean energy, trade and investment.
They also expressed a commitment to elevate Indonesia-France bilateral relations into a comprehensive strategic partnership, according to a joint statement released by the Élysée presidential palace.
“The relationship between Indonesia and France is, in my opinion, at its best level,” Prabowo said during a joint press conference with Macron.
He called France “an important global power” in preserving the international order.
Macron said Indonesia was one of France’s “major partners” in the Indo-Pacific region, as illustrated by “the delivery in recent months of the first Rafale fighter jets acquired by Indonesia”.

“We are convinced that there is a need to build … a coalition of independent nations [who] do not want to fall into exclusive dependence on any one major power, whether it concerns critical minerals, rare earth elements, raw materials, or anything else,” Macron added.
Defence remains a key pillar of the partnership, with both leaders committing during the latest talks to further cooperation in armaments and joint industry development.
Indonesia and France also launched a high-level business council, comprising 30 major companies from both countries with a combined market capitalisation of US$1.3 trillion.
They hope to triple bilateral trade by 2035 from US$2.6 billion last year.
Indonesian officials said commercial deals worth US$3.5 billion were signed during Prabowo’s visit to Paris.
These included a letter of intent between Indonesia’s state wealth fund Danantara and French defence giant Thales, under which Thales would help build a “Made in Indonesia” radar factory, tactical data links, command and control systems and maintenance facilities.

Mutual benefits
For Jakarta, the appeal of closer ties with Paris lies not only in new weapon acquisitions but also in expanding Indonesia’s diplomatic options amid sharpening US-China rivalry, according to analysts.
“It’s crucial for Indonesia to diversify its defence partnerships, so that it will not just rely on the United States or China. France, especially under Macron, has a fairly independent foreign policy stance. It has challenged the US and become the face of Europe in global politics,” said Ahmad Rizky Umar, an international relations expert at Aberystwyth University.
According to Ahmad, a closer alliance with Paris would allow Prabowo to mend relations with the European Union (EU), as the EU and Jakarta have been in disagreement over Indonesia’s natural resources policy in recent years. Brussels has also imposed a sanction on Karimun Oil Terminal over its connections with a Russia-linked shadow fleet.
For Paris, Indonesia was seen as a gateway to increase its diplomatic footprint in the Indo-Pacific, which includes French territories in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Islands, Ahmad said.
“What happens in the South China Sea or in the Pacific Islands has a huge impact on the stability of France itself, especially in its overseas territories. So far, France’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific has been mostly through the EU,” he said.

Weapon compatibility, travel expenses
While Prabowo’s Paris visit highlights the merits of closer ties between Indonesia and France, he faces challenges of proving that bilateral deals could ultimately benefit Indonesians, according to analysts.
Andrew Mantong, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia, said that deals announced during Prabowo’s visits to Paris and elsewhere would face hurdles such as red tape and overlapping authorities among Indonesian agencies.
“Domestically, issues related to macroeconomic stability, ease of doing business, investment, and high transaction costs are still not fully addressed. That will render the overseas visits pointless,” Mantong said.
“In defence, we have an interoperability problem. We have France-made Rafales, but we also bought aircraft from Turkey. The big question is how interoperable they are, and how we can integrate them with our defence strategy. That’s what actually hasn’t been answered.”
Those concerns come amid wider public scrutiny of Prabowo’s frequent overseas travel, which has drawn criticism over costs and a lack of tangible domestic benefits.
Waffa Kharisma, also a researcher with CSIS Indonesia, said: “Prabowo’s visits yield big numbers and potential cooperation in renewable energy, mining, and so on. But no one in the government has been able to explain how these deals can trickle down to the middle class, who are anxious about affordability and purchasing power.”


Dino Patti Djalal, a former vice-minister of foreign affairs, said in a video posted on Saturday that Prabowo “has become the head of state who has travelled abroad the most” and that each foreign trip “could cost up to hundreds of billions rupiah”.
“To maintain communication with other world leaders, I suggest that President Prabowo rely more on video calls or Zoom or telephone,” he said.
He pointed out that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had called her American counterpart Donald Trump 17 times instead of meeting him in Washington, despite the US being Mexico’s largest trading partner.
Dino suggested that Prabowo should prioritise attendance at multilateral forums and follow the example of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who “receives far more state guests in Beijing than travelling abroad”.
Responding to Dino’s criticism, Teddy Indra Wijaya, secretary of the cabinet, said on Monday that “any excess costs, from the ones budgeted by the state, are entirely borne by President Prabowo personally”. He did not elaborate on the amount of expenses that Prabowo had paid out of pocket.
Teddy also said that most foreign trips “have been planned a year in advance”, though some impromptu visits were arranged due to recent geopolitical dynamics.
“We can’t rely on asking for help only in times of crisis. We must cultivate good relationships, and when urgent situations arise, we can ask for help, and vice versa. This requires personal closeness between leaders. That’s diplomacy,” Teddy added.


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Indonesia’s Danantara’s headquarters in Jakarta. The sovereign wealth fund is partnering with French defence giant Thales to build Indonesian defence systems. Photo: Reuters

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Several deals signed in Paris have led to discussions on their merit and the frequency of Prabowo’s official trips around the world


Several deals signed in Paris have led to discussions on their merit and the frequency of Prabowo’s official trips around the world.


Prabowo’s overseas visits spark debate in Indonesia over benefits for citizens

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Several deals signed in Paris have led to discussions on their merit and the frequency of Prabowo’s official trips around the world

Several deals signed in Paris have led to discussions on their merit and the frequency of Prabowo’s official trips around the world