JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto and French President Emmanuel Macron used their May 28 meeting in Paris to put business, defence and trade talks back on the Indonesia-France agenda, according to a joint statement from the Élysée. 

The meeting came during Prabowo’s state visit to France, which began when he arrived at Orly Airport on May 26. The clearest economic announcement was the first meeting of the High-Level France-Indonesia Business Council in Paris on May 28. 

The joint statement said both governments backed more cross-border investment, including in downstream industries, and wanted the council to connect companies from both countries.

“We want to enhance this cooperation, increase investment in both countries, as I am very pleased and welcome the establishment of the France-Indonesia High-Level Business Council,” Prabowo said during a joint press statement with Macron, according to Indonesia’s state-owned agency Antara.

Trade remains a practical test for the relationship. The state-owned agency, citing government data, said Indonesia-France trade reached USD 2.4 billion in 2024. Indonesia still recorded a USD 532 million trade deficit with France that year.

French investment also formed part of the pitch. Antara said French investment in Indonesia reached USD 1.69 billion between 2021 and the first quarter of 2026, with more than 37,000 local workers employed.

The joint statement also put the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement on the table. The two leaders said they supported full implementation of the agreement as soon as possible, tying the Paris meeting to Indonesia’s wider trade push with Europe.

The recent Paris trip was at least Prabowo’s third Élysée stop in 2026, after a January 23 private dinner with Macron following Davos and an April 14 bilateral meeting in Paris. The pace fits his busy foreign-travel pattern since taking office in October 2024, which began with a multi-country trip that opened in China in November 2024.