Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi with his Indonesian counterpart, President Prabowo Subianto during a joint press conference in Cairo, Egypt. Photo courtesy of Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Facebook page.
Subianto arrived in Egypt on Wednesday to participate in the upcoming 11th Organization of Eight Developing Countries' (D-8) Summit, which will be held in the New Administrative Capital on Thursday.
In a joint statement with President El-Sisi, President Subianto reaffirmed Indonesia's full support for Egypt's leadership in resolving regional conflicts and addressing the Israeli aggression on Gaza. He emphasized the importance of bilateral cooperation in addressing regional and global challenges, particularly in supporting Palestinian independence and ensuring stability in Lebanon and Syria.
Indonesia lauded Egypt's key role in facilitating humanitarian aid to Gaza and pledged continued collaboration.
Both leaders emphasized the need for Israel to withdraw from territories occupied since 4 June 1967, halt unilateral actions, and adhere to international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions, including Resolutions 242, 252, 267, 446, and 2334.
They reiterated the importance of a two-state solution as the only viable path to resolving the conflict, calling for the establishment of a contiguous, viable, and independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
El-Sisi and Subianto denounced the displacement of Palestinians from their lands, Israeli settlement activities, settler violence, home demolitions, military incursions, and actions threatening the historical and legal status of holy sites in Jerusalem.
The two presidents welcomed the 27 November 2024 ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. They urged Israel to fully comply while condemning its continuous aggression in the Golan Heights and calling for Israel to end its occupation.
Egyptian-Indonesian bilateral relations
The two leaders agreed to advance efforts in key sectors such as palm oil, fertilizers, renewable energy, agricultural goods, digital economy, infrastructure, and transportation.
During the press conference held following their talks, President El-Sisi announced that Egypt and Indonesia have agreed to establish a logistics zone within the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
The project will be a partnership between government enterprises and private sector companies from both countries.
According to data released by Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) on Wednesday, the trade volume between Egypt and Indonesia reached $1.39 billion during the first ten months of 2024, compared to $1.38 billion during the same period in 2023.
El-Sisi and Subianto also emphasized the importance of increasing cooperation in defence, education, and culture.
Both leaders welcomed the resumption of direct flights between the two countries in November 2023 and discussed further initiatives to improve connectivity and foster people-to-people ties.
President Subianto invited Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to visit Indonesia on a date that both leaders would determine.
Finally, the two nations expressed their aspiration to hold a Joint Committee meeting in Cairo in 2025, chaired by their foreign ministers, to finalize several pending memoranda of understanding and agreements and establish a robust framework for advancing bilateral cooperation.
Short link: