Jokowi Praises Prabowo's Trade Diplomacy Achievement With The European Union And The US

7th President Joko Widodo or Jokowi (ANTARA)

7th President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) praised President Prabowo Subianto's achievements in international trade diplomacy. Jokowi said Prabowo's success in winning a zero percent rate with the European Union and reducing export rates to the United States was an extraordinary achievement.

"These two things are very good in my opinion. The trade agreement with the European Union and the tariffs falling in the US are extraordinary achievements," said Jokowi after receiving Prabowo's visit to his residence in Solo, Central Java, Sunday, July 20.

Jokowi highlighted how the Indonesia-EU CEPA negotiations that had been going on for 10 years finally reached a bright spot in the era of Prabowo's leadership. He said this success occurred thanks to Prabowo's personal approach to EU leaders.

"This zero percent tariff will provide great competitiveness for Indonesian products in the European market," said Jokowi.

Not only to the European Union, Indonesia's export rates to the United States were also successfully lowered from 32 percent to 19 percent. Prabowo is said to have direct diplomacy with US President Donald Trump and the results place Indonesia as one of the countries with the lowest export rates in ASEAN.

"With a rate of 19%, the competitiveness of our products increases. This can also encourage the entry of investment into Indonesia," added Jokowi.

Jokowi said that the success of this diplomacy shows Prabowo's qualified capacity in dealing with geopolitical pressures and global tariff wars. He stated that Indonesia could be more competitive and have the opportunity to become an investment magnet because of the more open market conditions.

"I think we have to appreciate these two big things. It is very difficult to penetrate the global market at this time," he said.

Jokowi also revealed that Prabowo's high approval rating reflects the public's appreciation for the current government's achievements. "I see that the approval rating is very high. This means that people also think that the government's work is very good," said Jokowi.

Presiden Prabowo Subianto diketahui menemui Jokowi di Solo sebelum menghadiri penutupan Kongres PSI di Edutorium UMS. Ia didampingi Wakil Presiden Gibran Rakabuming Raka dan Ketua Umum PSI Kaesang Pangarep.