Brazil and Indonesia signed, in the early hours of this Thursday (23), a series of memorandums and cooperation agreements in the most diverse areas, during President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s official visit to the country’s capital, Jakarta.
In a statement to the press, the presidents of the two countries said they had common views and positions regarding the situation in Gaza, the need for reform of the United Nations Security Council, as well as the role of Brics in defending the interests of the global south.
Upon confirming that he will contest the 2026 presidential elections, Lula said that new meetings between him and the president of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, will take place to make the relationship between the two countries increasingly valuable.
According to Lula, the agreements signed by the two heads of state move in this direction, especially for areas such as agriculture, energy, trade, education, defense, science and technology.
He recalled that, in the last two decades, trade between Brazil and Indonesia grew more than three times, from US$2 billion to US$6.5 billion.
Market of half a billion people
“It is almost inexplicable, for our societies, how two important countries in the world, such as Indonesia and Brazil, with almost 500 million inhabitants, only have a trade worth US$6 billion. It is little,” said Lula.
“For this reason, we are going to make a great effort to work hard so that Indonesia and Brazil become two fundamental partners in the economic geography of the world”, he added, stating that the two countries are “nations determined to assume the place that corresponds to us in an order undergoing profound transformation”.
According to Planalto, Indonesia was the fifth destination for Brazilian agribusiness exports in 2024. According to Lula, “these values are still timid” given the potential of these consumer markets.
Trade potential
In his speech, Prabowo said that Brazil and Indonesia are two growing economic forces that strengthen the global south. According to him, it is a “strategic and synergistic partnership between complementary countries”, between two members of the BRICS and the G20, a group formed by the 20 largest economies on the planet.
“Today we signed significant agreements,” said the Indonesian president. According to him, trade between the two countries has the potential to reach US$20 billion in the coming years.
In order to “cultivate this relationship”, Prabowo said he will include Portuguese among the priority languages of his country’s educational system.
Gaza, UN and BRICS
Lula said that, in the current scenario of heightened protectionism, Brazil and Indonesia are fully capable of showing the world their ability to defend economic interests with dialogue and mutual respect. He added that the two countries share similar views on the situation in Gaza.
“Our governments are united against the genocide in Gaza and will continue to defend the two-state solution as the only possible path to peace in the Middle East,” said Lula after hearing from Prabowo that the two countries have “similar behavior on issues such as the conflicts in Palestine and Ukraine.”
The Brazilian president reiterated his position in defense of a comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council to resolve the “lack of representation and present paralysis” of the entity.
He recalled that Brazil and Indonesia coincide in relation to the “growing importance of Brics as a platform for defending the development interests of the Global South”.
“Furthermore, we know that there is no sustainable development without overcoming hunger and poverty. The Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, launched during the Brazilian presidency of the G20, had the support of Indonesia from the beginning”, added Lula.
Multilateralism
According to Lula, the current political and economic context shows that it is increasingly necessary for countries to discuss their similarities, and a fair commercial relationship “is one in which both countries win”.
“Indonesia and Brazil do not want a second Cold War. We want free trade. And, even more: both Indonesia and Brazil are interested in discussing the possibility of trade between the two of us using our currencies”, added the president.
For him, this freedom for both countries to be able to use their own currencies in commercial relations is something that should have already happened.
“The 21st century demands that we have the courage that we didn’t have in the 20th century. It demands that we change some way of acting commercially so that we don’t become dependent on anyone”, he argued.
“We want multilateralism and not unilateralism. We want commercial democracy and not protectionism. We want to grow, create jobs. Quality employment, because that is why we were elected to represent our people”, he added.
Defense, energy, mining
The two presidents expressed optimism regarding commercial opportunities, especially in the defense sector. “Brazil has a solid military industrial base and is willing to contribute to Indonesia’s strategic needs, particularly its Air Force,” said Lula.
“In the energy area, we discussed the experiences of sovereign management of critical minerals, which are essential in the energy transition. Cooperation in the mining area can advance with greater institutionality within the scope of the memorandum that our Ministers of Mines and Energy signed”, he added.
Elections
During his speech, Lula stated that he will run for a fourth presidential term, and that, if elected, he will work to further enhance relations between the two countries.
“I will run for a fourth term in Brazil. I say this because we will still meet many times. My term only ends in 2026, at the end of the year. But I am prepared to run for other elections and try to make the relationship between Indonesia and Brazil extremely valuable.”
