Jakarta. President-Elect Prabowo Subianto recently traveled to Ankara for defense discussions with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Prabowo told Erdogan that he wanted to see stronger bilateral partnership in the field of defense and arms industry.

“Indonesia considers Turkiye as an important country, a friendly nation, and a partner in defense. We need to elevate this relation to build mutual trust and improve the capacity of both our armed forces and the defense industry,” Prabowo, who currently serves as the defense minister, said, as reported by a ministerial press release.

Prabowo also met with the Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler during his Ankara trip. He gave Guler a similar message: that the existing defense cooperation still has huge room for growth. Prabowo also visited some defense companies in Turkiye. 

The two countries inked a defense cooperation agreement in 2010. Indonesia and Turkiye also held its first defense dialogue in 2020. Some state-run companies have also forged research and development (R&D) deals with several Turkish defense companies. As a case in point, weapons manufacturer Pindad and Turkish defense firm FNSS have an R&D agreement for the IFV-Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Turkiye’s  Aselsan alongside Indonesia’s radio communications firm Wellracom Megahjaya and the state-owned Len are also has a similar partnership on defense radio software, according to the Defense Ministry.

Erdogan was among the first world leaders to congratulate Prabowo for his election victory earlier this year. The Turkish leader sent a personal letter to Prabowo for leading the preliminary results. Erdogan also made a phone call after the election commission officially declared Prabowo as the president-elect. 

Prabowo has been touring across the globe to meet world leaders ahead of his inauguration in October. Prior to his Turkiye visit, he met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. He also had bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron last week.