Indonesia and France Sign Defense Cooperation Agreement

Paris, MINA – Indonesia and France officially signed the Defense Cooperation Agreement (“DCA”).

The signing was carried out by the Indonesian Minister of Defense, Prabowo Subianto and the French Minister of Defense, Florence Parly when they met at the Hôtel de Brienne, the office of the French Ministry of Defense in Paris on Monday.

“DCA is an important umbrella for comprehensive defense cooperation between Indonesia and France in the future that is mutually beneficial in various fields that are of interest to both countries,” said the Indonesian Defense Minister in his press statement on Wednesday.

Prabowo explained that the formation of DCA was the result of the meeting of the two ministers in January 2020. After going through long negotiations, the two ministers agreed on the DCA text, which not only became an umbrella for strengthening defense cooperation but also strengthened the strategic partnership of the two countries.

DCA expands the scope of Indonesia-France defense cooperation. Several areas of cooperation that will be focused on include: military education and training, science and technology in the defense industry, peacekeeping force cooperation, combating terrorism, and defense industry research and development including joint production.

In addition, DCA also includes cooperation related to humanitarian assistance and handling disasters such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Through the signing of the DCA, the two countries also have the opportunity to maximize the potential and advantages of each other’s strengths, such as the development of cyber security and defense equipment cooperation to advance the capacity of the Indonesian defense industry and make Indonesia part of the global production chain of defense equipment products.

During the meeting, the two ministers exchanged ideas on various issues of mutual interest, particularly efforts to strengthen defense cooperation.

The two ministers saw many opportunities for cooperation that could be immediately undertaken to contribute in the region, particularly in supporting the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and the French Strategy in the Indo-Pacific. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)