Indonesia

French presence

There are 3,000 French nationals registered with the consulate, based in Bali (over half), Jakarta and Yogyakarta. This number is estimated to represent around 35% of the total number of French nationals present in Indonesia.

Visits

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

In December 2020, the Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, Franck Riester, travelled to Jakarta as part of a regional tour in Asia.

Following a visit by the Minister of Marine Affairs, Annick Girardin, in June 2021, during which a maritime dialogue was announced, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, travelled to Indonesia in November 2021. An action plan to strengthen our strategic partnership was notably signed. 

In 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Indonesia for the G20 summit. Several French ministers have also made visits, including Chryzoula Zacharopoulou, Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, and Olivier Becht, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad. 

In February 2022, the Indonesian authorities also welcomed Florence Parly, Minister for the Armed Forces. On this occasion, Indonesia agreed to purchase 42 Rafale fighter jets and formalized a French-Indonesian industrial partnership in the field of submarines, later confirmed by its acquisition of two Scorpène submarines.

Her successor, Sébastien Lecornu, made a visit to Jakarta in November 2022.

The Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, and Minister of Defence, Prabowo Subianto, visited France in July 2023 for the first ministerial meeting in 2+2 format. 

As President-Elect, Prabowo Subianto met with the French President in Paris in July 2024. On the day of his inauguration on 20 October 2024, Prabowo Subianto spoke with the French President by telephone. The two Heads of State spoke again on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on 18 November 2024 and by telephone on 4 April 2025. The French President made a state visit to Indonesia from 27 to 29 May 2025.

The Minister for the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, made another visit to Indonesia on 31 January and 1 February 2025, on the occasion of the first stopover of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in Lombok. The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, travelled to Jakarta on 26 March 2025, while the Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad made a visit on 9 April 2025.

In May 2025, President Emmanuel Macron made a state visit. President Subianto travelled to France in 2025 to take part in 14 July Bastille Day celebrations as the guest of honour, as well as for two working visits on 23 January and 14 April.

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) has been present in Indonesia since 2007. It continues to step up its activities in the country, in particular by financing projects in the areas of energy, transport, biodiversity and the sea. With nearly €3 billion in total approved funds since 2008, AFD provides concrete solutions to major sustainable development challenges in Indonesia. 

French cultural cooperation draws on a vast and long-standing network, made up of the Institut Français of Indonesia’s branches in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Surabaya, as well as Alliance Française branches in Denpasar, Makassar, Medan and Semarang. 

Educational and academic cooperation is organized around three priorities: improving vocational training capacities by building connections between the educational sector and business world; structuring vocational training partnerships in higher education; and supporting non-formal education, with a particular focus on gender equality and climate change. In the field of higher education, our academic cooperation has promoted exchange opportunities for students and professors for 70 years. More than 200 partnership agreements have been signed between French and Indonesian institutions. 

During the 2023-2024 academic year, more than 1,000 Indonesian students studied in France. 

France has long been one of Indonesia’s main partners in the scientific field. Promoting and supporting research between our two countries is based on three pillars: the Nusantra Hubert Curien Partnership, training, and the Science and Impact programme. 

Our scientific cooperation draws on the presence in Indonesia of the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (CIRAD) and School of Asian Studies (EFEO).