JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 15, (AP): Australia’s newly reelected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Thursday, in a visit aiming to strengthen his country’s economic and defense ties with its closest major neighbor. Albanese arrived in the capital, Jakarta, on Wednesday evening, a day after his new government was sworn in, to promote the importance of building stronger ties with Southeast Asia’s largest economy. "That is … a signal to our region of the importance that we place on this region.

We will be in the fastest growing region of the world in human history,” Albanese said in an interview last week with the Australian Broadcasting Corp. He described Subianto as a "good friend of mine" and hailed the two countries' close relations. Albanese’s center-left Labor Party won a second three-year term in an emphatic election victory May 3.

He was welcomed by Subianto in a ceremony at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta where he was escorted by dozens of motorized troops and cavalry while about 3,200 schoolchildren waved the flags of both countries along the streets, according to Indonesia's presidential office. The two leaders' talks are expected to "produce several concrete agreements that could bring direct benefits to the people of both countries," the office said. Albanese’s two-day visit is an indication of the countries' strategic closeness.

Their discussions will also include food security, energy, trade and other bilateral priorities, Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement. Newly elected Australian prime ministers typically make their first bilateral visit to Asia, usually Indonesia. In his first visit to Indonesia after his inauguration in 2022, Albanese also visited Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province with close ties to Indigenous Australians.

Albanese’s second visit to Jakarta comes amid global economic upheaval sparked by US President Donald Trump's "reciprocal tariff” trade policy. Australia was hit during its election campaign with a global-minimum 10% tariff on exports to the U.S. despite trading with its bilateral free trade partner at a deficit for decades, while Indonesia is subject to 32%. The two countries have for the past month negotiated with Washington for a better trade deal.