Envoy: Indonesia-Pakistan now strategic partners in Prabowo-Sharif era
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Pakistan’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, stated that the friendly relations between Indonesia and Pakistan have fully transformed into a strategic partnership under the administrations of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
In an exclusive interview with ANTARA in Jakarta on Saturday, the Pakistani envoy stated that the partnership encompasses all areas of cooperation, including collaboration in the defence sector, economy and trade, investment, education, health, tourism, people-to-people relations, agriculture, and food security.
He also said that Indonesia and Pakistan have agreed to enter a new era of economic partnership, namely a comprehensive economic partnership agreement that will be finalised next year.
“We are in discussions with the Indonesian Sovereign Wealth Fund (Danantara), and we have held further discussions on several areas where we can collaborate, including vaccine production in Pakistan,” Ambassador Chaudhri continued.
He added that Indonesia and Pakistan are working to align the halal certification standards of both countries and create linkages in the halal food supply chain between Indonesia and Pakistan.
“We are also working on several joint ventures in the halal food sector. So we believe that both Pakistan and Indonesia can actually become not only partners but established trends in the halal sector,” he said.
In addition, Ambassador Chaudhri stated that Indonesia and Pakistan are holding talks for the supply of advanced weapon systems from Pakistan to Indonesia and advanced training for Indonesian armed forces officers.
According to him, a group of Indonesian soldiers has just returned from Pakistan after receiving special training in Pakistan.
He also mentioned that Indonesia and Pakistan are collaborating in the education sector, stating that there will be more Pakistani students coming to Indonesia and vice versa.
“Especially in fields such as medical education, engineering, computing, advanced computing. So, in all these fields, we will see more Indonesian students coming to Pakistan,” he said.
Indonesia will lead the D-8 chairmanship for the 2026-2027 period with the theme “Navigating Global Shifts: Strengthening Equality, Solidarity, and Cooperation for Shared Prosperity,” and Pakistan is one of the D-8 member countries.
The D-8 is an economic cooperation organisation of developing countries comprising Indonesia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey. Azerbaijan became the newest member to join the D-8 in December 2024.
Indonesia and Pakistan have maintained diplomatic relations since April 1950 and will commemorate 75 years of diplomatic relations in 2025. Both countries are founding members of the 1955 Bandung Asian-African Conference alongside India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.