Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has begun his first world travel since taking office on October 20. After an initial visit to China to meet with President Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials, the 73-year-old Prabowo has scheduled a meeting in Washington with President Biden.
An aide to President Subianto has confirmed that a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump is also on the table. Such a meeting between the leaders of two of the world’s largest democracies has the potential for both elderly statesmen to improve their international profiles.
While Indonesia remains staunchly neutral on the world stage, then-President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was one of the first world leaders to express dismay at the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump’s life. As President-elect, Prabowo on Elon Musk’s X platform expressed deep concern and reiterated that “...Acts of violence have no place in the democratic political process and should be condemned.”
President Subianto was also among the first to salute President-elect Trump. Again, on X, Prabowo expressed “My heartfelt congratulations to Mr. @realDonaldTrump for being selected as the 47th President of the United States of America.”
He added, “Indonesia and the United States are strategic partners who share a robust and multifaceted relationship. Our strategic partnership holds immense potential for mutual benefit, and I look forward to collaborating closely with you and your administration to further enhance this partnership and for global peace and stability.”
Whether this first meeting happens in November or at some future time, there are many areas in which they share perspectives, most notably their common goal (though, perhaps, with differing proposals) to end conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
While Trump has boasted that just his election alone will convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table, Prabowo early on had proposed creating a demilitarized zone and a United Nations referendum to determine the status of the “disputed areas.”
But finding a pathway to peace between Russia and Ukraine, or even staving off a wider war, may not be that easy. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Russian press that U.S.-Russia relations are at their “lowest point in history.”
“Let’s not forget,” he added, “that we are talking about an unfriendly country that is directly and indirectly involved in a war against our state.”
On the other hand, Reuters reports that Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, said that Trump’s “convincing victory shows that ordinary Americans are tired of the unprecedented lies, incompetence, and malice of the Biden administration,” and that his election “opens up new opportunities for resetting relations between Russia and the United States.”
As the leader of the world’s largest Muslim nation, Prabowo has also been an aggressive proponent of peace between Israel and its Muslim neighbors. As Defense Minister, he strongly supported President Widodo’s initiative to fly over Israeli air space to deliver a planeload of humanitarian aid to Gaza - even though Indonesia and Israel have no diplomatic relations.
Prabowo said that the aid package was “just a drop in the ocean of horror and deprivation to which Gaza has been reduced lately,” yet the gesture carried “great symbolic value” for Indonesians.
Based on that success, perhaps this non-Middle Eastern Muslim leader may be the best negotiator vis-à-vis Presidents Trump and Netanyahu for the Muslims in Gaza.
Although Indonesia has been strengthening its historic ties with the United Kingdom, Prabowo has long shown disdain for European trade policies and the inefficiencies of top-heavy international organizations.
During his campaign, the former general cited a 2020 World Trade Organization (WTO) ban on exports of Indonesian nickel and the European Union’s ban on imports of Indonesian palm oil - commodities that has even affected its exports of coffee, tea, and cocoa.
President-elect Trump has long railed against tariffs and trade barriers European governments have placed on U.S. goods. During his first term, he threatened 20% tariffs on European automobiles entering the United States unless the EU removes barriers to selling American-made vehicles. He repeated those charges in the 2024 campaign.
Like Prabowo, Trump believes that bilateral agreements tend to yield better results than multinational pronouncements
While both Prabowo and Trump have been vocal in their call for peace through strength, both have also called for building up their nations’ military strength.
During his campaign, Prabowo emphasized that, while his country is very large and has great wealth, “for hundreds of years, countries from far away came to this archipelago to intervene, to interfere, to bring conflict, and to steal our wealth.”
Prabowo, like Trump, is also a strong believer in economic growth as a major instrument of state policy. As Indonesia emerges as a middle-income nation that intends to become self-sufficient in energy via mass adoption of readily available biofuels, Prabowo also wants to shore up his nation’s food and clean water supplies to reduce security risks.
Prabowo has recently expressed interest in joining the China-led BRICS group, but Indonesia has applied to join the Western-led Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Though Prabowo has signed a Defense Cooperation Arrangement that binds the U.S. and Indonesia, he has stated publicly that he will not take sides between the U.S. and China and wants a “constructive” relationship with President Xi’s government.
President Trump, on the other hand, has expressed deep frustration with President Xi’s government in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and China’s move to control the world automotive marketplace.
In sum, President Prabowo and President-elect Trump have much in common and much more in which their disparate views may contribute to workable diplomatic pathways.
And one more thing – Prabowo’s Vice President is a 37-year-old orator who happens to be the son of his predecessor, while Trump’s Vice President is also a young orator with charisma
So, whether or not Trump and Prabowo can find the time to meet during this visit, the world can look forward to a fruitful conversation between these two powerful leaders that can benefit both nations and quite possibly bring rational solutions to conflicts that threaten the global future.
Duggan Flanakin is a senior policy analyst at the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow who writes on a wide variety of public policy issues.
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