Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto recently summoned several ministers to his Hambalang home ahead of his departure to the US, and a senior official admitted that Jakarta remained hopeful for "positive surprises".

Prabowo, who is now en route to Washington, will soon sign a tariff agreement with US President Donald Trump. Ahead of his departure, he had summoned Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto and Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa to Hambalang. The same goes for State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi and Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani.

Airlangga's spokesman, Haryo Limanseto, confirmed that Prabowo mainly talked of his agenda in Washington during the Hambalang meeting. According to Haryo, Prabowo wants to make sure that Jakarta's economic diplomacy provides concrete benefits for Indonesia. This includes making sure that any agreement signed by Jakarta provides boosts to industrial productivity, expands market access, and strengthens its position in the global supply chain. Prabowo also hopes that whatever deal that Jakarta signs does not affect national interests.

"Prabowo will come to the US on Feb. 19. Around that date, he will sign the agreement on reciprocal trade," Haryo was quoted as saying in a press statement on Monday.

"The fact that the president had summoned his economic ministers to Hambalang is a form of final consolidation, which aims to solidify Indonesia's position in the negotiations. We hope there will be positive surprises from the US trade agreement that will further benefit Indonesia," Haryo said.

The Washington trip is expected to include investment meetings between Indonesian and US businesspeople. Both countries have substantially completed the negotiations and the so-called "legal drafting". This is where both sides made sure that the text is legally sound. Indonesia has pledged to remove virtually all tariffs on US goods in exchange for a cut from the originally threatened 32% to 19%. Trump has rolled back his reciprocal tariffs on coffee and cocoa in an executive order. Indonesian palm oil will also get tariff exemptions as a result of the months-long negotiations.

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