Fri 23 October 2020:
Indonesia’s defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and his French counterpart Florence Parly are aiming to sign a defense cooperation agreement (DCA) before the end of this year to celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“Prabowo Subianto and Florence Parly emphasized the importance of maintaining the stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region,” said the ministry.
“Indonesia wants to continue to enhance the cooperation with France in the defense sector,” Subianto said.
“I saw good progress in the strategic defense partnership in the past few years,” Prabowo said in the statement. “Indonesia wishes to increase cooperation with France in various defense sectors, including in strengthening the Indonesian Military’s [TNI] primary weapons system [Alutsista] and increasing the capacity of Indonesia’s defense industry as part of the Alutsista global production chain.”
During their previous meeting in January, both Subianto and Parly agreed on a Defense Cooperation Agreement. The agreement will cover cooperation in training and education, defense industry development, science and defense technology, intelligence cooperation and counterterrorism, as well as collaborations in peacekeeping operations and humanitarian missions during disasters.
The two ministers asked their negotiating teams to immediately finalize the agreement so it can be signed by the end of this year as the country is celebrating 70 years of diplomatic relations.
In 2017, the two countries signed a letter of intent to expand defense cooperation, including maritime security and cooperation.
Indonesia and France have since 2013 hosted an annual Indonesia-France Defense Dialogue (IFDD) in which the two countries discuss training and education, as well as counterterrorism cooperation. In 2017, the two countries signed a letter of intent to increase defense cooperation, including in maritime security.
