Souvenirs from President Prabowo's Visit to France
During his recent state visit to France, President Prabowo Subianto engaged in strategic meetings with government officials and business leaders, securing several significant investment and business agreements. The visit yielded four commercial agreements with a total value of approximately USD 3.5 billion, or roughly IDR 62 trillion (at an exchange rate of IDR 17,800 per USD). These agreements focus on three key pillars of the Indonesia-France economic relationship: energy, trade, and defence.
The Indonesian government anticipates that these deals will not only increase investment but also facilitate technology transfer and domestic job creation. A primary outcome is the establishment of the France-Indonesia High-Level Business Council, comprising 30 prominent business leaders from both nations. This forum is designed to accelerate investment realisation, strengthen industrial cooperation, and expand market access. A key objective of this council is to triple bilateral trade value by 2035, addressing the current trade deficit which stood at USD 532 million in 2024.
Specific sectoral agreements include a collaboration between Pertamina and SLB (Schlumberger Geophysics Nusantara) focusing on energy technology and artificial intelligence, valued between USD 250 million and USD 500 million. Furthermore, Pertamina is exploring a partnership with TotalEnergies, with a potential value of USD 900 million to USD 2.5 billion, covering LNG development, biofuels, and renewable energy. In the defence sector, a partnership between PT LEN and the French company Thales is being planned, with a potential value of USD 349 million to USD 465 million, focusing on the domestic production of radar systems to bolster national strategic industry.
Beyond economic matters, President Prabowo also addressed education, expressing the importance of mastering foreign languages, specifically French, to prepare the younger generation for global developments. He has instructed that French language learning should be integrated across all school levels in Indonesia. This proposal has drawn attention from Commission X of the Indonesian Parliament, with Deputy Chairman Lalu Hadrian Irvani calling for a thorough study to ensure the initiative serves practical educational purposes rather than being merely a diplomatic symbol.