May 28, 2026 | 08:03 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono stated that President Prabowo Subianto visits France to fulfill President Emmanuel Macron's invitation. It is known that Prabowo is in Paris, France, coincides with the Eid al-Adha of 1447 Hijri.According to Sugiono, Prabowo is accepting Macron's invitation, which was previously postponed because no suitable meeting date could be found."This is an actual invitation from President Macron that was previously postponed. So, at that time, if I'm not mistaken, the visit that was expected to be conducted in April, but the time was not suitable at that time," said Sugiono on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, as quoted from a video statement.The Secretary-General of the Gerindra Party added that President Macron then extended the invitation again to Prabowo. Sugiono claimed that Macron proposed a new date, which was finally agreed upon."During the second meeting of the two heads of state, President Macron once again extended the invitation and proposed the current date," he said.Sugiono stated that Prabowo's visit to France was made with the consideration that the invitation had been extended twice. He mentioned that Prabowo's state visit was in response to President Macron's visit to Indonesia. "So, because it has been extended twice, this is the second time, President Prabowo is fulfilling this invitation and attending in Paris," he said.Tempo has contacted the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yvonne Mewengkang, to confirm Minister Sugiono's statement. However, as of the writing of this news, Yvonne has not responded.Previously, Prabowo arrived in Paris on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. He landed at Orly Airport, Paris, the French Republic, at around 09:50 local time. A day later, Prabowo performed the Eid al-Adha 1447 Hijri prayer at Wisma Indonesia, the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in the capital city.The Cabinet Secretariat stated that the President's visit to France had been planned for a long time. "The invitation has been scheduled since last year and has undergone several reschedules," said Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya in a written statement on Tuesday.During his 19 months in office, Prabowo has visited France four times. Based on Tempo's records, the head of state first visited France as President in mid-July 2025. At that time, he was an honored guest at the 2025 Bastille Day Military Parade in Paris.Then, in early 2026, Prabowo made a brief visit of less than five hours to France. The visit was made after the president conducted a series of trips to the UK and Switzerland.In April 2026, Prabowo once again departed for France. The former Minister of Defense visited the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, to hold a meeting with Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday afternoon, April 14, 2026, local time.Read: Why Does Prabowo Frequently Visit France?Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
