Prabowo wants to accelerate defense cooperation to get RI-South Africa visa-free

Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto said the visit of South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa was important to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in all fields. He said the trade balance between the two countries had improved significantly. “Of course we want to continue to improve it with more balanced conditions, and we understand that. We want to take steps to possibly conclude a preferential trade agreement or a comprehensive economic partnership agreement,” Prabowo said after a bilateral meeting with Ramaphosa at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday (22/10/2025). Turn to CONTINUE CONTENT He praised South Africa as a leader in Africa. He said South Africa is an important partner for Indonesia. “South Africa is a very important leader in Africa, and I’m sure it will be an important partner for Indonesia in the coming years,” he said. Prabowo also discussed the defense cooperation jointly signed in 2023. Prabowo wants this cooperation to be implemented immediately. “In the defense sector, we agreed to accelerate the implementation of the defense cooperation agreement we signed in 2023. We will continue to do so,” he said. Prabowo and Ramaphosa also agreed to expand cooperation in other sectors, namely agriculture, energy and education. Prabowo also hopes that there will be a visa-free agreement between Indonesia and South Africa to make things easier for the people of both countries. “Indonesia has asked the President of South Africa for the possibility of sending a technical team to discuss concrete programs in key areas that we can develop quickly. We also hope to have closer cooperation in terms of convenience for the community, for example a joint visa-free agreement,” he said. (eva/haf)