Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Minister of Defense and President-elect Prabowo Subianto held a bilateral meeting with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the importance of pursuing and maintaining peace and security at the global level.
The bilateral meeting took place on Saturday (June 1) on the sidelines of this year's IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier defense summit, in Singapore.
"I would like to send my warm greetings and appreciation to the Ukrainian president for his initiative to hold today's meeting to talk about issues related to defense," Prabowo noted in his ministry's statement cited in Jakarta on Sunday.
During the meeting, the Indonesian and Ukrainian delegations shared views on the essence of preserving international peace and security in the midst of ongoing conflicts, global and regional security challenges, and threats of terrorism.
The two countries agreed on the importance of placing peaceful dialogue and diplomatic measures as a top priority in formulating solutions to disputes.
Furthermore, Prabowo and the Ukrainian head of state also made the most of their meeting to exchange insights on humanitarian issues, especially the condition of Palestinians in Gaza.
In this regard, Indonesia and Ukraine placed emphasis on the urgency to provide humanitarian aid and ensure its safe and uninterrupted distribution to Palestinians trapped in conflict zones.
Additionally, the two leaders discussed the potential to establish collaboration in the defense industry through transfer of technology. This topic points to the two countries' openness to broaden their cooperation.
At the end of the meeting, Minister Prabowo stated that he would strengthen Indonesia's commitment to building solid and mutually beneficial defense cooperation with Ukraine.
Prior to meeting with Zelenskyy, the minister also met with the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue to discuss the modernization of the primary weaponry defense system.
