JAKARTA – Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan met Indonesia’s incoming president Prabowo Subianto, as part of his four-day visit to the capital Jakarta.

Dr Balakrishnan visited Mr Prabowo at Indonesia’s Ministry of Defence offices in central Jakarta, after arriving in the city on April 23.

In a Facebook post that day, Dr Balakrishnan said he conveyed his congratulations on behalf of President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.

Mr Prabowo, who is currently Indonesia’s Defence Minister, won the Feb 14 Indonesian presidential election and received more than 58 per cent of the total ballots cast, official results in March showed.

Dr Balakrishnan said Mr Prabowo has been a steadfast friend of Singapore, and that it was an honour to catch up with him again.

“He is a patriot with an unwavering commitment to the security and well-being of Indonesian citizens,” Dr Balakrishnan said.

“Over many decades, he has also made innumerable contributions to building up friendship, understanding and cooperation between our nations.”

He added that during their meeting, the leaders discussed the impact of global strategic issues on South-east Asia and reaffirmed excellent bilateral relations.

In a release on April 23, Indonesia’s Ministry of Defence said Mr Prabowo was “very pleased” to see the efforts of the two countries in strengthening defence cooperation, ensuring maritime security, and increasing military capacity and capabilities.

“In line with the close cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore, there is a lot of potential to increase collaboration in the defence sector, including the defence industry, military operations and training, and education,” it said.

On April 23, Dr Balakrishnan also hosted lunch for Arsari Group chairman Hashim Djojohadikusumo and his daughter Sara Djojohadikusumo, who is vice-chairwoman of the Gerindra political party.