Indonesia’s President Arrives In KL For Day Trip, Tariff Talk Not Off The Table
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrives in Kuala Lumpur for a short nd quick trip on Sunday night to meet with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya who joined the President, said Prabowo, seeks to greet the Malaysian leader while cherishing the atmosphere of this year’s Eid al-Fitr.
“President Prabowo holds immense respect for PM Anwar, a senior and seasoned leader in ASEAN, who is older and came to power before Mr. President. They share a lasting friendship,” he pointed out.
Wijaya, informed that the Indonesian head of state would immediately return to Jakarta after meeting the prime minister.
The cabinet secretary did not provide a concise answer when asked about the possibility of Prabowo and Anwar discussing the import tariff policy recently announced by United States President Donald Trump.
He simply said, “These two leaders will talk about numerous things.”
Earlier this week, Prabowo and Ibrahim held a teleconference with Brunei Darussalam Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to exchange views on Trump’s import tariff move.
“We exchanged views and coordinated a collective response to the reciprocal tariffs rolled out by the United States,” PM Ibrahim noted on his social media account, as cited here on Saturday (April 5).
He also revealed the plan for Southeast Asian economic ministers to convene and formulate a coordinated reaction to Trump’s policy next week.
“Next week’s ASEAN economic ministers’ meeting will continue deliberations on this matter and seek the best possible solution for all member states,” he informed.
On Friday (April 4), the Malaysian head of government hosted Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, who echoed the importance of cohesiveness among ASEAN nations in light of the import tariffs.
Hartarto urged the 10 ASEAN member states to synchronize their steps to deal with the US policy, which President Trump described as a reciprocal move during its announcement on April 2.
The policy will be implemented in stages, starting from the imposition of a universal tariff of 10 percent on all countries from April 5, followed by special tariffs on several countries, including Indonesia, starting on April 9.
Under the new policy, Indonesia will be subject to a reciprocal tariff of 32 percent, the Philippines 17 percent, Singapore 10 percent, Malaysia 24 percent, Cambodia 49 percent, Thailand 36 percent, and Vietnam 46 percent.
