Prabowo left Zurich International Airport at 13:51 local time aboard the presidential aircraft after concluding his participation in the 2026 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos-Klosters.
The visit to Paris is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations, with a focus on strategic cooperation in areas of shared interest between Indonesia and France.
Foreign Minister Sugiono confirmed that Prabowo is scheduled to meet Macron to discuss bilateral cooperation as well as regional and global strategic issues.
“Meeting at the invitation of President Macron,” Sugiono said briefly, without elaborating further.
His departure was formally seen off by Foreign Minister Sugiono, Indonesian Ambassador to Switzerland I Gede Ngurah Swajaya, Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Sidharto R. Suryodipuro, and Army Attaché to France and Switzerland Aji Nugroho.
Ahead of the visit, French Ambassador to Indonesia Fabien Penone reaffirmed France’s commitment to deepening its partnership with Indonesia.
He emphasized that cooperation would center on innovation and creativity across multiple sectors. France, he noted, aims in 2026 to expand and formalize projects in science, innovation, and creative industries to ensure long-term, structured, and sustainable collaboration.
“Indonesia has abundant talent and a highly creative society. There is much France can learn, making this partnership mutually beneficial,” Penone said.
He highlighted opportunities in fashion, design, film, video games, gastronomy, arts, and science, stressing the importance of collaboration to open new prospects.
Connecting university and research ecosystems, he added, will be key to fostering strategic cooperation.
Penone also underlined that defense and security ties remain a priority.
Both countries continue to leverage shared strategic assets, including military equipment and operational collaboration between their armed forces.
“Through joint discussions, engineers and technicians transfer technology, bringing our defense industries closer together and even closer in the future,” he said.
Translator: Andi F, Aria C, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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