Prabowo Arrives In Canberra To Meet Australian PM

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto/ANTARA PHOTO/Hafidz Mubarak A/YU

JAKARTA - President-elect Prabowo Subianto arrived in Canberra, to meet with Australian Prime Minister (PM) Anthony Albanese and Deputy PM and Defense Minister Richard Marles on Tuesday (20/8).

Head of the Public Relations Bureau of the Secretariat General of the Ministry of Defense Brigadier General TNI Edwin Adrian Sumantha said Prabowo departed from Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base (Lanud), Jakarta, at 09.56 WIB.

"During this working visit, Defense Minister Prabowo is scheduled to meet Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Defense Deputy PM Richard Marles at the Australian Parliament House, Canberra," said Karo Public Relations of the Secretariat General of the Ministry of Defense as reported by ANTARA, Monday, August 19.

Prabowo's arrival to Canberra was his first working visit since he was elected President for the 2024 '2029 Period in the 2024 Presidential Election (Pilpres).

Since being appointed by the KPU as elected president on April 24, 2024, Prabowo has visited several countries, including China, Japan, Malaysia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, France, Serbia, and Russia.

In an official Australian government broadcast broadcast by the Australian Embassy to the Republic of Indonesia, PM Albanese welcomed Prabowo's visit.

"Indonesia and Australia are the closest partners and I welcome the opportunity to meet with President-elect Prabowo ahead of his inauguration in October," the Australian PM said.

The Australian government is committed to continuing cooperation with Indonesia to maintain peace and stability in the region, as well as mutual respect for the sovereignty of each country.

Meanwhile, Australian Deputy PM and Defense Minister Richard Marles was also enthusiastic about Prabowo's working visit to Canberra.

"I am happy because I had the opportunity to work with and get to know the President-Elect Prabowo while serving as minister of defense, because we have made great steps in defense cooperation between the two countries. Australia and Indonesia are working together more closely than ever before and expanding the scope and complexity of our military exercises together as we address the challenges of the region together," said Marles.