Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently spoke with President-elect Prabowo Subianto on the phone, a call to congratulate the latter for officially winning the election.

Prabowo shared the news on his personal Instagram account on Tuesday.

"Turkiye is a great friend to Indonesia, and we believe that this friendship will continue to flourish into the future. We are committed to continue and to strengthen the bilateral relations between our two nations," Prabowo posted on Instagram.

Last month, the Turkish leader already sent a personal letter to Prabowo who at the time was leading the preliminary results. Erdogan even called Prabowo "brother" in that letter.

The General Election Commission (KPU) not long ago officially confirmed Prabowo's landslide victory after the latter secured 96.2 million votes. This is the most votes that a presidential candidate has ever gotten in the history of Indonesian elections.

In 2022, Erdogan headed to Bali when Indonesia was presiding over the G20 economies. During Erdogan's visit, Turkish bus maker Karsan signed an agreement with Schahmindo Perkasa (Credo Group) to produce electric buses in Indonesia. State-owned construction firm Hutama Karya inked a deal with Turkish contractor ERG Insaat to build the Trans-Sumatera toll road.

Both countries are currently seeking to close a comprehensive economic partnership agreement by this year. Indonesia-Turkiye trade dropped from $2.6 billion in 2022 to $2.1 billion the following year, government data shows.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/turkiye-a-great-friend-to-indonesia-prabowo-tells-erdoga