Jakarta. An Indonesia-UK economic growth partnership emerged as one of the key outcomes of President Prabowo Subianto’s trip to London.

Prabowo will soon meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. 

As both sides count down to the leaders’ talks, senior minister Airlangga Hartarto and British Business Secretary Peter Kyle signed an economic growth partnership document on Monday local time.

“We have agreed to enhance our trade cooperation in a whole range of priority sectors, such as clean energy, digital economy, infrastructure, transport, education, and healthcare,” British Ambassador to Indonesia Dominic Jermey said. 

The governments will likely disclose more technical details of this document later.

According to Jermey, the freshly signed text is part of the “deeper strategic partnership” that the leaders will unveil soon.

Jermey went on to say that the two countries wanted to take advantage of the momentum from a 2025 landmark maritime deal — worth 4 billion pounds or around $5.4 billion. British defense firm Babcock had agreed to help build Indonesia’s naval capabilities as well as vessels for local fishermen. The UK was confident that this deal could unlock 1,000 jobs in its soil.

“Last year, we saw the success of the 4 billion pounds maritime deal led by Babcock. So now we are about creating new opportunities for businesses and delivering benefits for both our economies,” Jermey said.

The Trade Ministry data showed that Indonesia’s exports to the UK hit around $1.4 billion between January and November 2025. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy shipped around $7.7 million worth of mineral fuels to the former European Union nation, almost double the previous year’s exports. Indonesia saw a $459.5 million surplus with the UK over the same eleven-month period. The UK reported that its stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indonesia totaled 7.2 billion pounds ($9 billion) by the end of 2023.

When the leaders met in late November 2024, their joint statement gave some hints on what to expect out of the economic growth partnership. The document wrote at the time that the cooperation would put emphasis on breaking down barriers to economic growth and job creation.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that the UK and Indonesia would grow 1.3% and 5.1% year-on-year, respectively. Between 2019 and September 2024, England's investments in Indonesia totaled $2.28 billion.

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