PM Lawrence Wong at the Joint Press Conference With President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto (Jun 2025)

Your Excellency President Prabowo Subianto

Excellencies

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am delighted to welcome President Prabowo to Singapore.

President Prabowo is very familiar with Singapore; he has visited us many times. But this visit is special because it is his first State Visit to Singapore. And we are coupling it with our annual Leaders’ Retreat.

The Retreat is a platform that we convene only with our two closest neighbours.

It reflects the comfort and trust that we have with each other at the highest levels, and our shared commitment to work together in the spirit of mutual respect.

We had very good discussions this morning in our four-eye meeting and also in our delegation meeting. Both President Prabowo and I agreed that Singapore-Indonesia relations are in excellent shape and we want to take it further and chart even stronger ties in this new era of cooperation.

The Expanded Framework Agreements that we have together entered into force last year, and they serve as the foundation for our collaboration in defence, airspace management and law enforcement.

On Defence, our Ministers have signed a Joint Update on Defence Cooperation. Our armed forces continue to train together, and they are exploring new possibilities for military cooperation.

On Airspace, the Flight Information Region Agreement has been successfully implemented. Indonesian personnel are stationed in Singapore, we welcome them, and they are working smoothly with the Civil Aviation Authority Singapore to ensure safe and efficient air traffic management.

For the Extradition Treaty, the first case is now before the Singapore Courts. This would not have been possible without the close collaboration between our legal and law enforcement agencies. So, the successful implementation of the three agreements is testament to Singapore and Indonesia’s ability to work through complicated issues with respect and trust for one another.

President Prabowo and I also discussed ways to enhance our bilateral cooperation.

One promising new area is in the Green Economy. We know that climate change will have an outsized impact on small island and archipelagic states like ours. But we can turn our vulnerabilities into opportunities.

Our Energy Ministers have signed three MOUs on Cross-Border Electricity Trade, Carbon Capture and Storage, and the Sustainable Industrial Zone.

After this press conference, President Prabowo and I will witness a milestone ceremony for these renewable energy and sustainability projects.

Working together, we can create new opportunities for growth, while realising our green and sustainability goals. We can help ourselves, help each other, and help the world.

Our work on the green economy reinforces our already robust and multi-faceted economic ties.

Our trade and investments links remain strong. Singapore has been Indonesia’s top source of foreign investment for more than a decade. Last year, Singapore accounted for over one-third of all realised foreign investment into Indonesia. This reflects the confidence we have in Indonesia’s economy and its potential and strength.

The MAS and Bank Indonesia have renewed the Bilateral Financial Arrangement. This is the first time that we have extended the Arrangement by three years. Previously it was renewed annually, this time we have renewed it for three years. And it reflects our shared commitment to preserving monetary and financial stability amidst global economic uncertainty.

We have also signed an MOU on Food Safety and Agricultural Technology. We know that food security is a key priority area for Indonesia. And Singapore will support this, including through a Young Farmers Development programme to exchange best practices on agri-tech solutions.

All in all, there are many projects which Indonesia and Singapore are undertaking together. These are possible because of the enduring friendship between our countries, and between Singaporeans and Indonesians.

Both President Prabowo and I agree on the importance of facilitating more of these people-to-people exchanges. Improvements in connectivity will enable such exchanges and we welcome the newly launched flights from Singapore to Padang and Kertajati.

Beyond this, our officials will continue to support more internship opportunities for our youths to work in one another’s countries. They will gain valuable overseas experience, and bring back friendships that last a lifetime.

President Prabowo and I also had good discussions on regional and global affairs.

As founding members of ASEAN, we will continue to work closely with our fellow ASEAN Members States, to strengthen our region and to uphold the rules-based multilateral system.

I also conveyed Singapore’s support for Indonesia’s accession bid to the CPTPP.

We are in the midst of profound global change.

But for nearly 60 years, Indonesia and Singapore have stood shoulder to shoulder, as partners in the face of multiple challenges.

I have every confidence that we will continue to do so, especially with Pak Presiden’s strong support and leadership.

I thank President Prabowo for the excellent, constructive discussions we had today. He has long been a valued friend of Singapore, and I look forward to working closely with him to take our bilateral ties to greater heights. Thank you.

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