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❚ Kang Yu-jung, Senior Spokesperson, Brief on Korea-Indonesia Summit Results
President Lee Jae-myung held a summit meeting this morning with "Prabowo Subianto," the Indonesian President who is on a state visit to the Republic of Korea (March 31-April 1).
President Lee expressed his joy at welcoming President Prabowo as a state guest some five months after their summit in Gyeongju last November, and President Prabowo thanked President Lee for his warm welcome and the state visit invitation.
At this summit, both leaders agreed on the need to strengthen comprehensive and strategic cooperation in the fields of economy·innovation, security·defense, and culture·creativity as trusted allies and key cooperative partners amid rapidly changing international circumstances, for the mutual prosperity and inclusive growth of both nations.
Both leaders discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in ▴politics·security, ▴trade·investment·industry, ▴advanced technology·energy transition·green economy, ▴social·culture and human exchange, and ▴regional·international issues, and as a result of the meeting, adopted "Joint Statement on the Establishment of Korea-Indonesia Special Comprehensive Strategic Partnership." This marks the first case for both Korea and Indonesia to establish a "Special Comprehensive Strategic Partnership."
Furthermore, a total of 16 memoranda of understanding were signed in various fields immediately following this meeting, establishing the institutional framework for implementing cooperation in each field. The specific outcomes of this summit are as follows.
First, in the field of trade and investment. Indonesia is ASEAN's largest economy and a key economic cooperation partner in the region with some 2,300 Korean companies operating there. Both leaders committed to work together to achieve a bilateral trade volume of $30 billion, and to do so, agreed to strengthen cooperation in comprehensive economic partnership agreements (CEPA) between the two countries, halal certification, intellectual property protection and enforcement. Indonesia, with over 80% of its 280 million population being Muslim, is also the world's largest halal market with an annual scale of $300 billion. Furthermore, both leaders reaffirmed their strong commitment to active cooperation for fostering an electric vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia and expanding battery production made in Indonesia.
In particular, President Lee requested special attention and support from President Prabowo for Korean companies that have established operations in Indonesia, and President Prabowo praised the contribution of Korean companies to Indonesia's economic development and pledged active support to enable more Korean companies to enter and operate smoothly in Indonesia.
Additionally, both nations agreed to actively pursue strategic investment cooperation through Indonesia's 1-trillion-dollar Danantara National Wealth Fund in promising fields such as critical minerals, infrastructure·urban development, artificial intelligence (AI), and renewable energy. President Lee expressed hopes for active investment by the Danantara National Wealth Fund in Korean companies investing in Indonesia's strategic industries, as well as in Korea's innovative companies and K-content industry sectors, and emphasized that both nations should achieve mutual growth based on this.
Both leaders agreed to promote exchange and cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises and startups of both nations, which are key drivers of future growth, and to further strengthen economic and industrial linkages between the two nations through cooperation in developing Indonesia's industrial workforce. In particular, both leaders welcomed the launch of a QR linked payment service between the central banks of both nations starting April 1, and it is expected that this will promote exchanges and tourism between the peoples of both nations and reduce service charges for small businesses and consumers by an estimated 1.4 billion won over the next four years.
In the defense·security field, both leaders congratulated the KF-21/IF-X fighter jet joint development project, which the two countries have been cooperating on for over the past decade, on its successful completion expected in June of this year. Furthermore, as optimal defense partners for each other, the two nations agreed to expand comprehensive defense cooperation beyond simple weapons exports to include co-production, maintenance·repair·maintenance centers, and human resources development. Additionally, the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in non-traditional security fields including terrorism, transnational crime, wildfires, and disaster relief to protect and safeguard the safety of both nations' citizens.
Both leaders agreed to expand cooperation in future new growth sectors such as critical minerals and shipbuilding. In particular, the "Critical Minerals Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding" was revised to establish an institutional framework for strengthening supply chain cooperation with Indonesia, which is abundantly endowed with critical minerals essential for our strategic industry, such as secondary batteries—as the world's No. 1 nickel producer and No. 2 cobalt producer.
Furthermore, both leaders recognized the high promise of strategic cooperation between the two nations, which are advancing competitiveness in the shipbuilding and marine industry, agreed to actively discover and concretize cooperative projects in the shipbuilding field. Additionally, the scope of cooperation was expanded to include technology joint development and human resources development support in Indonesia's marine plant service industry. This is expected to contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of Korean companies seeking to enter the Southeast Asian marine plant industry field, which is anticipated to reach 10 trillion won in scale by 2030.
Next, are the outcomes in the fields of advanced technology and energy transition. Based on the memoranda of understanding signed at this occasion, cooperation will be strengthened to advance AI application in fields directly connected to people's lives—including basic AI cooperation, digital, education, and food security—while launching the forward-looking and innovative 'Global AI Fundamentals Society Alliance Initiative' that actively realizes the basic rights of all individuals through strategic use of technology.
Additionally, through the signing of memoranda of understanding in the fields of carbon capture and storage cooperation, environmental cooperation, and clean energy cooperation, a foundation has been laid for achieving our country's greenhouse gas reduction targets and expanding cooperation in clean energy fields such as nuclear power and renewable energy.
Both leaders stated they would promote mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of both nations, the foundation for the development of bilateral relations, through vibrant cultural exchanges, and in particular, agreed to newly establish a government-to-government cultural industry cooperation committee to actively promote mutual investment and joint venture development in the cultural and creative industry sector. This is expected to create mutually beneficial synergies through Indonesia, a hub for K-culture in the region and a massive content market valued at 18 billion dollars. Additionally, both leaders agreed to jointly review institutional support measures to continuously expand the scale of mutual visits between the peoples of both nations, which recorded 860,000 in 2026.
Both leaders shared concerns about the impact the recent Middle East conflict may have on energy supply chains and the regional economy, while agreeing to cooperate closely to ensure the swift recovery of peace and stability in the Middle East and to minimize the impact of this crisis on both nations' economies and peoples' lives. In particular, as a resource-rich nation within ASEAN and Korea's first offshore oil and gas development country, the two nations plan to expand energy and resource security cooperation with Indonesia, including ensuring stable supplies of coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) through secure maritime shipping routes.
Furthermore, both leaders exchanged views on major regional and international issues. President Lee explained the government's policies for Korean Peninsula coexistence and mutual prosperity and efforts to reopen inter-Korean dialogue, and requested Indonesia's constructive role. President Prabowo reaffirmed Indonesia's support for the denuclearization and peace of the Korean Peninsula.
President Lee expressed his hope that Korea will concretize the Korea-ASEAN cooperation vision—"a facilitator of dreams and hope, a springboard for growth and innovation, a partner for peace and stability"—which he declared at last year's Korea-ASEAN Summit, through cooperation with Indonesia as a key cooperative partner within ASEAN.
Finally, President Lee extended his condolences to President Prabowo and the Indonesian people regarding the sacrifice of Indonesian troops who were serving with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon, while confirming Korea's support for Indonesia's role and contribution to international peace.
On the occasion of President Prabowo's state visit to Korea, Korea has upgraded its bilateral relationship with Indonesia—ASEAN's largest economy with the world's 4th largest population and abundant natural resources—to that of a "Special Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," thereby establishing a foundation for deepening trade and investment sophistication, comprehensive defense cooperation, and substantial cooperation in new growth sectors such as advanced technology including AI, infrastructure, shipbuilding, nuclear power, energy transition, and cultural and creative industries.
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