Japan-Indonesia Agree on Several Cooperation Agreements

Japan has agreed to a number of agreements with Indonesia, including assisting President Prabowo’s Free Nutritious Food Program (MBG). This was agreed upon during a meeting between Prabowo and Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru at the Bogor Palace, Saturday (11/1/2025).

“We invite Japan to participate in the program that we have initiated towards Indonesia’s industrialization, especially in the downstream sector and they are also interested in assisting in the field of nutritious food,” Prabowo said as quoted from the Presidential Secretariat’s live broadcast on YouTube.

Prabowo said that Japan has 80 years of experience in providing nutritious food. He said that Japan offered the initiative to help make MBG a success through training and so on. Meanwhile, Ishiba offered a cooperation package to accommodate Prabowo’s great desire to provide highly nutritious lunches for children in Indonesia.

“We, Japan, will organize a cooperation package including training for school lunch providers, sending experts, and assistance in improving the fisheries and agriculture sectors by utilizing various experiences of Japan,” said Ishiba.

In addition, Japan and Indonesia also agreed to a number of agreements in various fields. Among others, in the field of defense, Japan and Indonesia agreed to form a discussion forum at the level of defense practitioners regarding the guarantee of maritime security of the two countries. Including cooperation for defense equipment, technology transfer. and so on. Japan also agreed to provide high-speed patrol boats, an agreement has been reached, the provision of high-speed boats through Japan’s Official Security Assistance (OSA) program. Japan and Indonesia also agreed to hold 2 plus 2 as a meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defense. This is a form of increasing strategic dialogue between the two countries.

In the economic sector, it has been agreed to increase cooperation on stable energy supplies. Namely, cooperation in the field of energy decarbonization and the field of critical mineral mining such as PLTP, Muara Laboh, under the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC). As well as cooperation for hydrogen, ammonia, biomobil, and so on. In addition, Ishiba stated that he also wanted to encourage cooperation in the fields of resources and infrastructure to maintain energy security and decarbonization through various channels. In the field of disaster management, Japan and Indonesia reached various agreements for volcanic disaster management. Because, both countries are countries that face the risk of natural disasters.

“In my opinion, this meeting is an important and very valuable opportunity to move forward one step towards further improving relations between Japan and Indonesia. And I myself want to continue to try proactively to deepen relations between the two countries, Indonesia and Japan,” said Ishiba.

On that occasion, he also invited Prabowo to attend the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Kansai which will start on April 13, 2025.

January 11, 2025, CNBC Indonesia

(https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20250111133748-4-602453/deal-jepang-ri-sepakati-sejumlah-kerja-sama-ada-makan-bergizi-gratis)