Jakarta, 20 October 2024 (Lusa) - The United States, through Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and China, through a letter from President Xi Jinping, congratulated the new president of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, who took office this morning.
Antony Blinken congratulated former general Prabowo Subianto and invited him to strengthen the relationship between the two countries in the face of China's growing influence in the region.
"The United States congratulates Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on his inauguration. His election is a testament to the shared values of democracy and the rule of law that unite the United States and Indonesia, two of the world's largest democracies," Blinken said in a statement.
The head of US diplomacy recalled that 75 years of relations have passed between the two countries and highlighted the "mutual commitment to human rights, diversity and prosperity is crucial to preserving a free Indo-Pacific", in a reference to Beijing.
On the Chinese side, President Xi Jinping also sent a congratulatory message to Prabowo Subianto in a letter published by the Chinese official press, highlighting the good-neighbourly friendship between his country and Indonesia and the steady growth of the bilateral strategic partnership, as well as his desire to "maintain close strategic communication" to "write a new chapter in the pursuit of strength through unity".
The Chinese president also stressed that next year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Indonesia, which will "provide a new opportunity to advance bilateral cooperation" between "two major developing countries".
Former general Prabowo Subianto, with a controversial military past, was sworn in today in Indonesia, becoming the eighth president of the Asian country.
The former defence minister, who succeeds Joko Widodo, won by a large margin the first round of the presidential elections in February, against two other candidates, in what was his third time running.
Prabowo Subianto, 73, has been criticised for alleged human rights abuses in East Timor and Papua, as well as for the torture of pro-democracy activists when he was a military officer.
A former commander of the special forces involved in the 1975 invasion of East Timor, Prabowo has always denied the allegations and has never been the subject of a criminal trial.
MES (CAD) // MAG
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