Indonesia President Prabowo mulls extending tour to Middle East

The President, who is preparing to take off to the UK on the next leg of his five-country tour, is looking at the possibility of stopping by the Middle East if his and Gulf leaders' schedules match, but he has also expressed a wish to come home.

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File photo of President Prabowo Subianto (left), accompanied by his son Didit Hediprasetyo, arriving at the Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, the United States, on Nov. 10, 2024. PHOTO: ANTARA/THE JAKARTA POST

November 19, 2024

JAKARTA – President Prabowo Subianto says he is planning to extend his current overseas tour to visit several Middle Eastern countries as he prepares to depart for his next stop, the United Kingdom.

Since embarking on his first overseas tour on Nov. 8, Prabowo has made state visits to China and the United States, attended the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Peru, and is currently in Brazil for the Group of 20 (G20) Summit.

“I am also trying to stop by the Middle East, several countries in the Middle East. We just have to see if the dates are suitable or not,” the President said in a video message taken in Brazil and broadcast on Monday on the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel (Sekretariat Presiden).

However, Prabowo also expressed a desire to return to Indonesia.

“I actually want to go home soon,” he said.

Prabowo said just after he was sworn in as Indonesia’s eighth president that APEC and G20 would be holding summits soon at faraway places, and that he would be taking these meetings as an opportunity to visit other countries as well.

As part of his broader international mission, Prabowo has been meeting with global leaders and attending various international forums to highlight the importance of economic cooperation, particularly with China and the US.

The President’s agenda during his ongoing tour also includes promoting strategic partnerships, as evidenced by his attending the Indonesia-Brazil Business Forum in Rio de Janeiro, which focused on potential collaborations in the energy, industrial and maritime sectors.

“Of course, my focus in the first months, the first years [of my presidency], is to improve the domestic economy,” Prabowo said.

During his upcoming visit to the UK, he plans to discuss economic issues and investment opportunities.

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