While issuing a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron, Prabowo informed that the two countries are working on joint production and technology transfer of several strategic defense equipment.
"We have an Indonesia-France defense cooperation agreement. France is one of Indonesia's main partners in modernizing defense equipment, including in the development of the defense industry through joint production and technology transfer," he said on Wednesday.
On that occasion, he highlighted the positive outcomes of the 11th Indonesia-France Defense Dialogue (IFDD), held in Jakarta on April 29–30, 2025, and Indonesia's participation in joint military exercises held by France, including the La Perouse 2025 Multilateral Joint Exercise.
The exercise took place on January 16–24 in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Malacca Strait, Sunda Strait, and Lombok Strait.
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The joint exercise was attended by nine countries from the Indo-Pacific region—France, Indonesia, Canada, the United States, Malaysia, India, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Singapore.
Prabowo then emphasized the commitment of the two countries to continue defense cooperation, including in human resource improvement in the defense sector.
Indonesia-France defense cooperation has continued to advance, especially during Prabowo's stint as defense minister in 2019–2024.
During the period, Indonesia officially purchased 42 Rafale fighter jets made by French company Dassault Aviation. It also announced the purchase of two Scorpene submarines made by Naval Group, another French company.
Indonesia also purchased a GCI radar made by French company Thales.
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During Macron's official visit to Indonesia, the two leaders witnessed the signing of two defense cooperation documents.
The first was a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation related to the protection of classified information (MPCIA), and the second, a letter of intent (LoI) on strategic defense cooperation between Indonesia and France.
The two documents were signed by Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
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Translator: Genta Tenri/Mentari Dwi, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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