Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – US President Joe Biden congratulated his newly installed Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto on his inauguration as Washington seeks closer ties with Jakarta.

Prabowo officially rose to power on Sunday, and delivered an inaugural speech that highlighted how Indonesia sought to be a "good neighbor" to all countries. According to Biden, the US government intends to strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that both countries had launched in late 2023.

"I congratulate President Prabowo Subianto on his inauguration as President of the Republic of Indonesia, and the Indonesian people for exercising their right to vote and making their voices heard," Biden said, as quoted by a statement issued by the White House on Monday morning Jakarta time.

"This year, Indonesia and the US are celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations. Vice President Harris and I look forward to working with President Prabowo to honor this milestone by continuing to strengthen our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and show that democracies can deliver on the challenges that matter most to our peoples' lives," Biden said.

Last November, Indonesia and the US agreed to elevate their diplomatic ties to a level of a comprehensive strategic partnership. The countries announced the partnership during Former President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's trip to the White House. Biden was absent during Prabowo's inauguration, and sent a presidential delegation instead. US representatives to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield led the delegation, which also included US Ambassador to Indonesia Kamala Shirin Lakhdir and US Department of Commerce's deputy secretary Don Graves, among others.

In his inaugural speech, Prabowo said that he would pursue a "good neighbor" policy. He wants Indonesia to be friends with everybody, but will oppose acts of colonialism.

"We [Indonesia] wish to be good friends with all countries, but we will embrace the principle of anti-colonialism.... We are against oppression because we have been oppressed before," Prabowo said over the weekend.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/biden-looks-forward-to-strengthen-indonesiaus-ties-with-prabow