Foreign Minister Reveals He Proposed Prabowo-Trump Meeting Since Inauguration

ANTARA/Galih Pradipta

Foreign Minister Reveals He Proposed Prabowo-Trump Meeting Since Inauguration

Monday, 14 Apr 2025

Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono revealed that his party had submitted a request for a bilateral meeting between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and United States (US) President Donald Trump since Trump's inauguration in early January 2025.

The Foreign Minister's statement was a response to the possibility of a meeting between the two leaders after Trump postponed reciprocal tariffs to various countries for 90 days, including Indonesia.

"We have submitted a request for a meeting with President Trump some time ago, long before the actual tariff (announcement)," said Foreign Minister Sugiono when giving a statement to the media in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday (10/4) evening local time.

The Foreign Minister said that there had been parties from the Indonesian government, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who were sent to discuss bilateral relations between Indonesia and the US, as well as the latest developments due to the imposition of reciprocal tariffs by the US.

The Indonesian government, said the Foreign Minister, is still waiting for the schedule for a meeting between President Prabowo and President Donald Trump from the White House.

"We have requested it, before there was (tariff imposition). Because shortly after President Trump was inaugurated," said the Foreign Minister.

Based on information gathered, United States President Donald Trump, Wednesday (9/4), announced a 90-day delay on reciprocal tariffs to various trading partner countries, but still increased import duties on China by 125 percent.

Countries that are planned to be subject to higher reciprocal tariffs are only subject to a base tariff of 10 percent, which for steel, aluminum, and cars will be the same.

Trump said that there are already more than 75 countries ready to negotiate with the US, on the other hand, his party will continue to review the possibility of increasing tariffs in the pharmaceutical sector.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government has prepared a number of negotiation packages that will be brought to the negotiations to face the US reciprocal or reciprocal tariff policy in Washington D.C.