General Angus Campbell Returns To Jakarta To Visit Prabowo, It's Been 2 Times A Year

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (right) shook hands with ADF Commander General Angus Campbell at the Ministry of Defense Office, Jakarta, Tuesday (20/2/2024). (ANTARA/Genta T M)

JAKARTA - Defense Minister (Menhan) Prabowo Subianto again received a friendly visit aka courtesy call from the Commander of the Australian Armed Forces (ADF) General Angus Campbell at the Ministry of Defense (Kemenhan) Office, Jakarta, Tuesday, February 20.

In less than a year, Prabowo twice received a visit from General Campbell in Jakarta.

"Yes, an honorary visit, he stopped by. There are several things that we discussed. Our relationship between the two defense communities, between the two soldiers is very good, and we just talk about technical things," Prabowo said in response to questions related to the meeting after taking General Campbell to his vehicle after the meeting.

Prabowo admits that the relationship between the Indonesian and Australian militaries is very close. Close relations are important to always be maintained considering that Indonesia is committed to maintaining friendship with all countries, including neighboring countries.

"The relationship between Indonesia and Australia is good. We are good with all countries, especially our neighboring countries," said Prabowo.

General Angus Campbell, who has served as Commander of the Australian Armed Forces since mid-2018, arrived at the Indonesian Ministry of Defense Office, Jakarta, at around 14.00 WIB.

During the welcoming ceremony, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense, Marshal Madya TNI Donny Ermawan Taufanto, welcomed Campbell's arrival.

Campbell and his entourage were then escorted into Prabowo's office. The two met for approximately 1 hour.

Prabowo escorted Campbell to his vehicle while chatting briefly with the Australian military official. On the way to the vehicle, Campbell and Prabowo had stopped for a few seconds to take pictures and shake hands.

General Campbell, who often wore a typical Australian military fedora during his overseas working visit, visited Jakarta on March 6, 2023. During the meeting, Prabowo and Campbell discussed increasing military cooperation between the two countries, including in the field of education and training.

"We are committed to fully supporting joint exercises between the TNI and ADF and exploring every potential opportunity to increase the capabilities of the two countries in facing common threats and challenges," Prabowo said after the meeting on March 6, 2023.

In last year's meeting, Prabowo also thanked Australia for the opportunity to provide scholarships to cadets/cadets from Indonesia to attend the Royal Military College (RMC) Duntroon.

"The cadet program is a big investment because interpersonal relations are the key to increasing defense cooperation between Indonesia and Australia," Prabowo said.

Prabowo, during the waiting period for the results of the presidential election vote calculation from the KPU, returned to carrying out his duties as Minister of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia. From the preliminary results of the KPU calculation as of Tuesday, February 20 at 16.00 WIB, the votes acquired by the Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka pair reached 58.7 percent.