US President Joe Biden, right, and Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia's president, shake hands during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. Biden and Subianto are expected to explore ways to strengthen US-Indonesian cooperation, and will coordinate on sustainable approaches to food security, clean energy transition, democracy and pluralism, and regional peace and stability. - Bloomberg
JAKARTA/WASHINGTON (Reuters): Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto met with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday and offered his congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump by phone during an official visit to Washington.
"I will work very hard to strengthen Indonesian-United States relationship, and I would like to work towards this end that we have a strong cooperation," said Prabowo.
Prabowo, who has said he will pursue a non-aligned foreign policy, met with Biden in the Oval Office after posting a video of his call to Trump.
He arrived in Washington straight from China, where he had met with President Xi Jinping on his first overseas trip since taking office last month.
Washington sees Indonesia, the most populous country in Southeast Asia, as an important partner in a region where its rival Beijing has deep trade and investment ties. Indonesia is also the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.
While China is a key economic partner for Indonesia, Jakarta has also become a big buyer of U.S. arms, and it wants to sell the West more metals from its mines.
At the White House, Biden said the two leaders were discussing climate, conflict in the Middle East and the South China Sea.
Indonesia said on Monday it does not recognize China's claims over the vast majority of the South China Sea, despite signing a maritime development deal with Beijing.
"We continue to encourage Indonesia to work with their legal experts to make sure any agreement they make with (the People's Republic of China) is in accordance with international law, especially the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea," said White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre at a press briefing.
After the meeting, Biden and Prabowo pledged in a joint statement to expedite ongoing talks on critical minerals between the two countries.
Last year, resource-rich Indonesia, who wants to become a major player in the manufacturing of electric vehicles and their batteries, asked the US to begin talks on a trade deal for critical minerals so that exports from the Southeast Asian country can be covered under the US Inflation Reduction Act.
Prabowo and Biden also called for all parties in the conflict in army-ruled Myanmar to create conditions for dialogue as the country remains besieged by a conflict set off by a 2021 military coup.
Both leaders expressed support for the development of a code of conduct between Southeast Asian countries and China in the tension-filled South China Sea.
TRUMP CALL
Prabowo's office said he made the call to Trump on Monday after arriving in Washington. It did not immediately respond when asked if he is scheduled to meet Trump in person.
"Wherever you are, I'm willing to fly to congratulate you personally, sir," Prabowo said in the video of the call posted on his social media accounts.
"We'll do that, anytime you want," Trump replied.
Trump described his own election victory as amazing, and said it gave him a big mandate.
He also said the Indonesian president was "very respected," and praised his English, to which Prabowo, a former special forces commander, replied: "All my training is American, sir."
Prabowo also met with several U.S. company representatives in Washington, his office said, including from Freeport McMoRan and energy company Chevron, and urged the companies to invest in Indonesia.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto in Jakarta and Jeff Mason in Washington; Writing by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by John Mair, David Gregorio, Rosalba O'Brien and Kim Coghill) - Reuters
