Indonesia

French presence

3,000 French are registered with the consulate, established in Bali (more than half), Jakarta and Yogyakarta. It is estimated that this number is about 35% of the total number of French present on Indonesian territory.

Visits

In March 2017, President Hollande made a state visit to Indonesia.

In December 2020, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade and Attractiveness, Franck Riester, visited Jakarta as part of a regional tour of Asia.

After a visit by the Minister of the Sea, Annick Girardin, in June 2021, during which a maritime dialogue was announced, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, visited Indonesia in November 2021. In particular, an action plan to strengthen our strategic partnership was signed.

In 2022, the G20 was the occasion of a visit by the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron. Several French ministerial visits also took place, including Chryzoula Zacharopoulou, Secretary of State for Development, La Francophonie and International Partnerships and Olivier Becht, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Attractivity and French Abroad.

The Indonesian authorities also welcomed in February 2022 Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces. On this occasion, Indonesia acquired 42 Rafale fighter aircraft and formalized a Franco-Indonesian industrial cooperation in the field of submarines, confirmed since with the acquisition of two Scorpene submarines.

His successor, Sébastien Lecornu, paid a visit to Jakarta in November 2022.

The first ministerial meeting in “2+2” format was the occasion of a visit to France by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto in July 2023.

Now president-elect, Prabowo Subianto met with the President of the Republic in Paris in July 2024. During his inauguration in 2024, Prabowo Subianto spoke on the phone with the President of the Republic (20 October). The two heads of state exchanged again on the sidelines of the G20 in Rio on 18 November 2024 and by telephone on 4 April 2025. The President of the Republic made a state visit to Indonesia from 27 to 29 May 2025.

The Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu visited Indonesia again on 31 January and 1 February 2025, on the occasion of the first stopover of the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in Lombok. The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot travelled to Jakarta on 26 March 2025 and the Deputy Minister in charge of Foreign Trade and French Abroad on 9 April 2025.

In May 2025, President Emmanuel Macron made a state visit. President Subianto in turn visited France as guest of honor on 14 July 2025, then for two working visits on 23 January and 14 April.

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

The French Development Agency (AFD), present since 2007, continues to strengthen its activity in Indonesia by financing actions in the energy, transport, biodiversity and marine sectors. With a total amount of funding approved of nearly €3 billion since 2008, AFD provides concrete answers to the main challenges of sustainable development in Indonesia.

French cultural cooperation is nourished by the extent and age of its network, consisting of the establishments of the French Institute of Indonesia in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Surabaya as well as the Alliances Françaises of Denpasar, Makassar, Medan and Semarang.

Educational and university cooperation is organized around 3 axes: improving skills in vocational training by linking the education sector with the business world, structuring partnerships in vocational training in higher education and supporting non-formal education, particularly in the fields of gender inequality and climate change. In the field of higher education, university cooperation has been promoting exchanges of students and professors for 70 years. More than 200 agreements unite French and Indonesian institutions.

In the academic year 2023-2024, more than 1000 Indonesian students were welcomed in France.

France has historically been one of Indonesia’s main partners on the scientific scene. The promotion and support of research between our two countries was based on three pillars: the Hubert Curien “Nusantara” Partnership, training and the Science and Impact program.

Our scientific cooperation is also based on the presence in Indonesia of the Research Institute for Development (IRD), the Centre for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD) and the French School of the Far East.

This page has been automatically translated using artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancy, the French version shall prevail.