French President Emmanuel Macron awarded the Indonesian leader France’s highest award Thursday during a visit to a military base before touring the world’s largest Buddhist temple.
Macron’s visit to Indonesia was the second leg of a six-day, three-nation tour of Southeast Asia, which began in Vietnam and ended in Singapore.
Macron and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto flew by helicopter from Yogyakarta, Java, to a military academy in Magelang, Central Java, on Thursday after talks in the capital, Jakarta. Magelang is a city surrounded by mountains.
The two attended a military parade together, with Macron presenting Prabowo with France’s highest military or civilian award, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor.
Prabowo, a former general, has been accused of human rights abuses during the Suharto dictatorship in the late 1990s. He was expelled from the military for his role in kidnapping pro-democracy activists, but he has denied the allegations and has never been charged.
Macron rode in a jeep driven by Prabowo, who was greeted by a marching band and hundreds of students waving Indonesian flags.
Macron will then visit Borobudur, a 9th-century Buddhist temple that is the largest in the world. He will also give a speech on cultural ties with Prabowo before departing for Singapore.
He will give opening remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier security forum, on Friday.
On Wednesday, the two called for progress on “mutual recognition” between Israel and Palestine at a key meeting next month as Macron included the world’s most populous Muslim country in his diplomatic efforts.
“Indonesia has said it is ready to recognize Israel and establish diplomatic relations once Israel recognizes Palestine,” Prabowo said.
Indonesia has no formal relations with Israel, but support for the Palestinian cause is high among Indonesians.
The two countries also signed a series of cooperation agreements in a number of areas, including defense, trade, agriculture, disaster management, culture and transportation.
