President Prabowo Subianto hosted Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, at Jakarta’s Merdeka Palace on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. This two-hour meeting was conducted in a constructive and intensive atmosphere where the two leaders addressed strategic issues, including bilateral cooperation, investment, and regional challenges.
Key Areas of Focus for Bilateral Relations
Prabowo emphasized that he and Wong discussed priority aspects of Indonesia-Singapore relations, with a focus on sustainability and the long-term relationship between the two nations. Topics included defense cooperation, legal matters, trade, investment, food and energy security, and human resource development, according to cnnnewsindonesia.com.
Enhancing Singapore’s Investment in Indonesia
One priority topic in the discussions between Prabowo and Wong was Singapore’s potential to increase its investment in Indonesia. President Prabowo advocated for expanded economic collaboration, particularly in industrial downstreaming, food security, and the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) project.
“We also discussed efforts to boost Singapore’s investment in key sectors in Indonesia, such as renewable energy, industrial downstreaming, food security, digital technology, semiconductors, healthcare, and IKN,” Prabowo stated, as reported by liputan6.com.
Prabowo highlighted that Singapore is among Indonesia’s top trade partners and largest investors. He expressed hope that Singapore could further open its market to Indonesian products, facilitating broader access through regulatory harmonization and standards alignment.
Collaborating in Technology, Energy, and Education
In the field of technology and low-carbon energy, the two leaders discussed joint projects, including cross-border electricity interconnection and the development of green hydrogen in Sumatra, as well as solar power projects. They also agreed to enhance collaboration on carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.
In addition, Prabowo and Wong explored food security cooperation, with plans to advance technology transfer in urban agriculture and expertise exchange for building Indonesia’s food hubs.
“We agreed to expedite the completion of a Memorandum of Understanding on food security and agricultural technology cooperation,” Prabowo added.
Education also emerged as a crucial area for enhanced cooperation. Prabowo and Wong committed to strengthening educational ties, research, digitalization, and professional exchanges to further develop human resources in both countries.
Regional Security and Geopolitical Stability
Before concluding the meeting, President Prabowo and PM Wong exchanged perspectives on regional and global geopolitics, agreeing on the importance of maintaining peace and security.
“I hope this visit will serve as momentum to further enhance our collaboration in strategically important sectors for both countries,” Prabowo said, as cited by presidenri.go.id.
This state visit marks PM Wong’s first official visit hosted by Indonesia’s 8th President. Wong and his delegation are conducting a two-day official visit to Indonesia from November 5-6, 2024.
Source: presidenri.go.id, cnnindonesia.com, liputan6.com, kabar24.bisis.com
image: Presidential Secretariat Office
