PM Albanese Praises Indonesia-Australia Bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement

JAKARTA - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised the completion of the bilateral Indonesia and Australia Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) discussion.

He said that when he met President Prabowo Subianto on Thursday (14/11) ahead of the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru.

"Today I met Prabowo Subianto for the first time since his inauguration as President of Indonesia," PM Albanese tweeted on X, as quoted on Friday, November 15.

"I thank (President) Prabowo for his leadership in completing our bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement," he continued.

PM Albanese added that Australia and Indonesia are close neighbors and close partners.

"And I look forward to working with President Prabowo in facing the shared challenges facing our region and people," he tweeted.

It is known that the bilateral DCA of Indonesia and Australia was signed by the then Indonesian Minister of Defense, Prabowo Subianto, with Australian Deputy Prime Minister-Minister of Defense Richard Marles at the Graha Utama Hall, Magelang Military Academy on August 28, quoted from the website of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense.

It is said, this Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) is legally binding, thus demonstrating the two countries' serious commitment to improving and strengthening defense relations within the framework of a comprehensive strategic partnership.

The consideration of increasing DCA status into a legally binding agreement is based on the intensity of increasing military cooperation activities between the two countries over the past 10 years, especially in the field of education and training.

Negotiations on the agreement have been carried out through a series of meetings in Jakarta in May and December including in Canberra in August 2023.

Today I met with Prabowo Subianto for the first time since his inauguration as President of Indonesia.

I thanked @prabowo for his leadership to finalise our bilateral Defence Cooperation Agreement.

Australia and Indonesia are near neighbours and close partners. 🇦🇺🇮🇩

And I look… pic.twitter.com/Sldi3qXFUa

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) November 14, 2024

Today I met with Prabowo Subianto for the first time since his inauguration as President of Indonesia.

I thanked @prabowo for his leadership to finalise our bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement.

Australia and Indonesia are close neighborhoods and close partners.

And I look... pic.twitter.com/Sldi3qXFUa