Metro Manila, Philippines— Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto has included the Philippines in his Southeast Asian swing ahead of his inauguration next month.
Prabowo met with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday, Sept. 20 to reaffirm Philippine-Indonesia ties.
“I would like to thank you for receiving me at short notice. I came here today to pay my respects because exactly one month from now, on the 20th of October, God willing, I will be inaugurated as president of the Republic of Indonesia,” said Prabowo in his meeting with Marcos.
Prabowo cited close ties with Manila and Jakarta in 75 years of diplomatic relations. He said that under his term, Philippine-Indonesia relations will become stronger and deeper.
“We have common roots, cultural, historical, and by the fact that we are very close neighbors, it behooves us, I think, to always support each other and to work together closely in all fields,” said Prabowo.
Marcos said Prabowo’s visit indicates growing relations between the two countries “which has been at a very strong level for many, many years, in many aspects [whether on ]people to people, political, on the diplomatic”.
Indonesian embassy sources told NewsWatch Plus that Prabowo immediately left the country after his meeting with Marcos.
Before the Philippines, Prabowo had a high-profile ASEAN visit in August, in particular to Brunei, Laos, and Cambodia.
He proceeded to Thailand and Malaysia as his last stop for the initial ASEAN tour.
NewsWatch Plus Senior Correspondent Tristan Nodalo contributed to this report.
