What do Turkiye and Indonesia want from bilateral talks?

Turkiye and Indonesia aim to deepen cooperation in defence, energy and emerging technologies following high-level talks in Jakarta, as both countries push to expand economic ties in a bid to reach a $10bn bilateral trade target agreed in April last year.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto during an official visit to the capital on Wednesday, according to sources quoted in the Turkish press. Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono received Fidan on his arrival and held formal talks. Later, Subianto also hosted Fidan.

The meetings focused on increasing collaboration in the defence industry, including earlier Turkish involvement in Indonesian procurement programmes and joint development efforts for armoured vehicle and drone-related technology, alongside energy projects, transport links, artificial intelligence (AI) and the halal sector.

In a statement on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal following the talks, Fidan described the discussions as “highly productive” and said they had advanced a “wide-ranging agenda” shared by both countries.

So, what exactly are Indonesia and Turkiye hoping to achieve, what has their past relationship been like and what do they have in common? Here’s what we know.

The two nations are working towards raising bilateral trade to $10bn, while broadening cooperation in strategic sectors such as defence manufacturing, energy security, transport infrastructure, AI and the halal food industry.

There is some way to go before this target is likely to be hit. According to Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency (BPS), trade between Indonesia and Turkiye increased from $2.1bn in 2023 to nearly $2.4bn in 2024.

Indonesia’s trade surplus – the difference between the amount it exports and the amount it imports – with Turkiye rose from $940m to almost $1.5bn between 2023 and 2024.