President Prabowo warmly welcomes the President of Belarus at Istana Merdeka

Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto warmly welcomed Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in a state ceremony that took place at the Merdeka Palace, Central Jakarta, Thursday, July 2.

President Lukashenko arrived with a convoy of vehicles from the National Monument (Monas) area to the Merdeka Palace. He was escorted by special forces on horseback and motorcyclists. The atmosphere of the welcome was festive.

Hundreds of students carrying Indonesian and Belarusian flags welcomed the Belarusian head of state with cheers along the path to the palace. Upon arrival at the Merdeka Palace grounds, Lukashenko was greeted directly by Prabowo, who was wearing a gray suit, a blue tie, and a black turban.

The two leaders shook hands warmly before attending the welcoming ceremony. As part of the state guest welcoming procession, Lukashenko and the Belarusian state entourage were treated to a performance of the Enggang Dance from East Kalimantan.

After that, the two heads of state walked to the front porch of the Merdeka Palace to attend the state ceremony. The ceremony began with the playing of the Belarusian national anthem, then continued with the Indonesian National Anthem. After the procession, Prabowo and Lukashenko inspected the honor guard by reviewing the line of soldiers lined up in the Merdeka Palace courtyard.

President Prabowo then introduced the Indonesian delegation who were present, including Foreign Minister Sugiono, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia, and Secretary of State Prasetyo Hadi. Then, Minister of Investment and Industrialization Rosan Roeslani, Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Minister of Culture Fadli Zon, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, and the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Russian Federation who also serves as the Republic of Belarus.

Furthermore, Lukashenko introduced the Belarusian delegation accompanying him, namely the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Victor Karankevich, Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxim Ryzhenkov, Chairman of the Central Council of the Public Association of the State of the Republic "Sports Club of the President" Dmitri Lukashenko, First Deputy Chairman of the Council of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Egorov, and Chairman of the Presidium of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences Uladzimir Karanik.

Then, Health Minister Aliaksandr Khajayeu, Minister of Industry Andrei Kuzniatsou, Minister of Agriculture and Food Yuri Horlau, Minister of State Authority for Military Industry Dmitry Pantus, Chairman of the State-Owned Enterprise for Oil and Chemicals Ilya Ikan, Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Indonesia Raman Ramanouski, and Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Belarus Mikhael Miatlikov. Afterwards, President Prabowo and Lukashenko took a photo together before entering the Palace to hold a closed meeting.

The agenda of this bilateral meeting is to discuss strengthening cooperation in various fields between Indonesia and Belarus. One of the main focuses is the agricultural sector, especially the provision of fertilizer raw materials which are considered important to support Indonesian agricultural productivity.

The two countries will also launch a roadmap for bilateral relations that covers various sectors of cooperation.