Indonesia’s Prabowo heads to China at start of multi-country trip

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JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s new leader Prabowo Subianto set off for China on Friday for his first international trip as president, kicking off a tour that will include stops in the United States, Britain, and South America for the APEC and G20 summits.

Prabowo, who won the presidency in February at his third attempt, has signaled he is keen to play an active role on the international stage, demonstrated by his visits to 21 countries during the time he was president-elect.

“It shows that Indonesia is well respected and its presence is needed in bilateral and multilateral meetings to discuss important issues, not only the economy but also the current rising geopolitical tensions,” he told a press conference before flying to China.

“I think all parties are waiting to hear about Indonesia’s stance and role.”

The former defence minister and special forces commander has said that under his presidency, Indonesia would continue its long-held foreign policy of non-alignment.

Prabowo’s agenda for China is unclear, but he is expected to meet President Xi Jinping. He is due to meet U.S. counterpart Joe Biden in Washington and Prabowo’s office has said it was possible he could meet president-elect Donald Trump.

He will go to Britain to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and may also visit several countries in the Middle East, he said. His office has not provided dates for any of the visits.

The trip will include stops in Peru for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and to Brazil for the summit of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies.

Prabowo is expected to strengthen ties with both the United States and China as Indonesia’s main partners, said Prasetyo Hadi, the state secretariat minister, adding he would discuss potential partnerships in trade, energy, housing and marine sectors.

(Reporting by Ananda Teresia and Stefanno Sulaiman; Editing by John Mair, Martin Petty)