November 14, 2024
JAKARTA – President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief William Burns in Washington, DC, shortly before the newly inaugurated president was scheduled to have a sit-down with outgoing US President Joe Biden.
State news agency Antara reported that the meeting took place inside the Wisma Indonesia guest house in the eastern part of the capital city.
In the meeting, President Prabowo was joined by Foreign Minister Sugiyono and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, who also serves as the President’s personal assistant.
No details were available about the meeting.
Later in his meeting with Biden, President Prabowo pledged to strengthen ties between the two countries.
“I will work very hard to strengthen Indonesian-United States relationship, and I would like to work towards this end that we have a strong cooperation,” he said.
Prabowo, who has said he will pursue a non-aligned foreign policy, met with Biden in the Oval Office.
He arrived in Washington from China, where he had met with President Xi Jinping on his first overseas trip since taking office last month.
On Monday, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said it does not recognize China’s claims over the vast majority of the South China Sea, despite signing a maritime development deal with Beijing.
“We continue to encourage Indonesia to work with their legal experts to make sure any agreement they make with [the People’s Republic of China] is in accordance with international law, especially the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” said White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre at a press briefing.