Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto kicked off his Middle East Tour early Wednesday for a series of Gaza talks with the region’s leaders.

Prabowo will first meet Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed (MbZ) in Abu Dhabi. Speaking to reporters before his flight, Prabowo said he would exchange views with MbZ on geopolitical and geoeconomic matters. He will immediately make a return visit to Ankara after his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to Indonesia two months ago.

On April 12, Prabowo will head to Cairo to see his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, followed by a state visit to Qatar. Jordan will become the final stop of his Middle East tour, during which he will consult with King Abdullah II.

Prabowo -- whom analysts had referred to as “foreign policy president” due to his frequent international engagements -- said that the trip aimed to show that Indonesia was ready to help cool down the Gaza crisis.

“There have been many requests for Indonesia to play a more active role in addressing the conflicts in Gaza and the Middle East. Indonesia may be far from this region, but our country is home to the world’s largest Muslim population,” Prabowo said at the Halim Perdanakusuma airport.

According to Prabowo, Indonesia’s position as the leader of the non-aligned movement, coupled with its so-called “free and active" foreign policy, gives the country the flexibility to communicate with the parties in conflict.

"We are ready to play a role by seeing what we can do," Prabowo said.

He then went on to say how Indonesia would send more humanitarian aid to Gaza. The retired army general also revealed that Indonesia was open to temporarily hosting injured Gazans and orphans.

Prabowo did not say when he would be back in Indonesia. However, he is expected to bring home some deals from the international trip.

Palestinian authorities recently reported that the Gaza death toll since Israeli strikes heightened in October 2023 had reached 50,800. Qatar and Egypt -- alongside the US -- had helped broker a ceasefire deal between Israeli forces and Palestinian militant group Hamas early this year. The ceasefire was supposed to take place in three phases with the first, 42-day round already coming to an end in March. Efforts are underway to have a renewed truce.

Add as a preferred source on Google +