Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto is planning to make another trip to Kuala Lumpur later this month to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

This would be the second time for Prabowo to meet Anwar in January, reflecting the retired army general’s attempt to build closer ties with close neighbor and ASEAN chair Malaysia. Prabowo will make the upcoming Kuala Lumpur trip after visiting India as the chief guest to New Delhi’s Republic Day parade.

Prabowo touched down in New Delhi at around 10.30 p.m. on Thursday local time. He will be in India until Sunday for the Republic Day festivities and a series of bilateral talks. 

“I will travel to Malaysia from India at the invite of [Malaysian King] Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar and hold a bilateral meeting with the prime minister,” Prabowo said in Jakarta before his flight to New Delhi. 

According to Prabowo, Malaysia and Indonesia share many similarities, be it cultural, ethnic or historical backgrounds.  They are also founding members of ASEAN, together with the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. He added: “The role of Indonesia and Malaysia to work together on ASEAN, along with other strategic cooperation, is crucial.”

Malaysia is currently assuming the rotating chairmanship of the Southeast Asian bloc in 2025. As chair, Malaysia seeks to enhance trade and investment between ASEAN members, among others. The group has also set a target to wrap up its regional digital economy pact negotiations by this year. 

Prabowo and Anwar are quite close. Anwar was among the world leaders that Prabowo visited for an introductory visit as a president-elect in early April 2024. The Malaysian leader also attended Prabowo’s swearing-in ceremony in Jakarta last October. Anwar had hosted Prabowo for lunch in Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 9.  The talks were supposed to take place in late December, but Anwar said Prabowo had to postpone the Kuala Lumpur visit due to fever. Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indrawijaya later clarified that Prabowo decided to delay the visit due to an “urgent matter”, denying that the president was feeling unwell.

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