Jakarta. President-Elect Prabowo Subianto is back again on a world tour ahead of his inauguration ceremony with Filipino President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr being the most recent world leader he had visited.

Marcos Jr hosted the former army general and now-defense minister at Manila’s Malacanang Palace on Friday. The talks mainly revolved around bolstering the Indonesia-Philippines ties. Prabowo told Marcos Jr that Indonesia considers the Philippines as a “strategic partner”, particularly in the defense sector. He even complimented the Filipino politician on how he had run his country. 

“I’m very impressed by your leadership. Your strategic insights have significantly advanced the Philippines’ position on the global stage while showing real progress in politics, economy, and military,” Prabowo told Marcos Jr, as reported by the Defense Ministry.

Prabowo talked of the Philippines-Indonesia Joint Defense and Security Cooperation (JDSCC) meeting that Manila hosted in June. The next meeting is set to take place in Indonesia in 2025, meaning that Prabowo should already be president by then. 

Marcos Jr commented on Prabowo’s visit on his social media account while wishing the latter “success in leading his country to greater heights”.

“Our nations have always shared a deep bond of friendship, and I am certain that it will only strengthen in the years to come,” Marcos Jr wrote. 

Government data showed Indonesia-Philippines trade amounted to $12.5 billion throughout 2023, a decline compared to almost $14.4 billion the previous year. Bilateral trade reached close to $6.9 billion in January-July 2024, another drop versus the almost $7.3 billion posted in the same period in 2023. In 2022, both countries inked an agreement on cooperative activities in defense and security. 

Indonesia and the Philippines are part of the ASEAN grouping. Bongbong Marcos Jr flew to Jakarta last September to attend the ASEAN Summit.

Prabowo earlier this month also toured around some ASEAN members including neighboring Malaysia, among others. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hosted Prabowo during the visit at the time.