German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrives in Jakarta for a state visit

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (center) and German First Lady Elke Büdenbender (left) descend the stairs of the plane upon arrival at the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base, Jakarta, Monday, June 15, 2026 (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived at the TNI AU Air Base (Lanud) Halim Perdanakusuma, Jakarta, Monday, June 15 at around 09.00 WIB, as part of his state visit which is scheduled to last a full day in Indonesia.

Quoted by Antara, in the parking area of the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base, President Steinmeier's arrival was greeted by a ceremonial honor guard from the Indonesian National Army (TNI), who all wore special black and red-white uniforms complete with attributes and weapons.

Right at the end of the stairs of the plane, the Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin, representing the Indonesian Government, directly welcomed President Steinmeier's arrival. In addition to Budi Gunadi, there were also the German Ambassador to Indonesia Ralf Beste and the Indonesian Ambassador to Germany Abdul Kadir Jailani.

Not far from the aircraft parking area, cannon fire was also sounded as a form of tribute to President Steinmeier, who for the first time visited Indonesia during the presidency of President Prabowo Subianto.

Steinmeier's last visit to Jakarta took place in 2022 during the tenure of the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo.

Then, Budi Gunadi accompanied President Steinmeier and his wife, German First Lady Elke Büdenbender, walked along the blue carpet at the end of which there was a short performance of traditional Betawi dances.

After that, President Steinmeier and the First Lady of Germany immediately boarded a special vehicle complete with the flag attributes of the two countries, and were escorted by a motorcade and motorcyclists from the Presidential Security Force (Paspampres).

The motorcade will travel down the streets from Halim Perdanakusuma, MT Haryono Street, Gatot Subroto Street, Sudirman Street, M.H. Thamrin Street, and Medan Merdeka Barat Street. Next, enter the National Monument (Monas) and Merdeka Palace areas.

President Steinmeier's visit to Jakarta on Monday is part of a series of foreign visits to several countries in Asia, namely Uzbekistan and the Philippines.

In Jakarta, in addition to a bilateral meeting with President Prabowo Subianto, President Steinmeier is also scheduled to visit the Istiqlal Mosque and the Jakarta Cathedral. Then meet and discuss with the Indonesian intellectual and research community.

During his meeting with President Prabowo, President Steinmeier will discuss several strategic agendas including Indonesian-German economic cooperation and expanding the scope of exchange of expert labor between the two countries.