VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A screenshot of the bilateral meeting between President Prabowo Subianto and French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 Summit at the Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday (November 19, 2024). (ANTARA/HO-Presidential Media Team/rst)

VOInews, Rio De Janiero : President Prabowo Subianto has said that diplomatic relations between Indonesia and France have experienced positive progress in several fields.

He made the remarks after a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 Summit at the Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday local time.

"We have a lot of progressed cooperation with France," he remarked, according to a statement released by his office on Wednesday.

As per the statement, the meeting between the two presidents was an important momentum to strengthen bilateral relations in many sectors. They discussed several strategic issues ranging from the economic sector to defense equipment.

The meeting took place in a warm and productive environment, which reflected the closeness between the two nations that has continued to grow. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sugiono; Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati; and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya accompanied President Prabowo to the meeting.

As reported earlier, Hartarto stated that several issues were raised at the meeting on the cooperation between the Indonesia-France Economic Forum and the procurement of fighter jets and submarines.
"We surely discussed the economy sector because we have the France-Indonesia bilateral economic forum. President Macron asked for the continuation of this program," he said.

Defense equipment was another topic raised at the meeting, with President Macron expressing appreciation for Indonesia's plan to procure military equipment, including Rafale fighter jets, and to seek cooperation in submarine production.
"President Macron appreciated Indonesia's plan to procure military equipment, including Rafale and submarines," the minister added.

Earlier, Indonesia and France collaborated in the production of high-tech Scorpène Evolved submarines to strengthen the independence of the archipelagic nation's maritime industry.
The Indonesian Ministry of Defense completed the purchase of 42 Rafale fighter jets from France's Dassault Aviation after the third-phase purchase contract for 18 units became effective//Antara - VOI