Pakistan, Indonesia Seal Major Deals Across Trade, Health, IT, and Education

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday agreed to expand bilateral trade and deepen cooperation across multiple sectors, including health, agriculture, IT, science, and education.

The two leaders also reaffirmed joint coordination on major regional and global issues, particularly the situation in Palestine.

Speaking at a joint press conference at the Prime Minister’s House, PM Shehbaz said both countries were committed to raising bilateral trade, which currently stands at $4.5 billion, with more than 90 percent consisting of palm oil imports from Indonesia. He assured President Subianto that Pakistan would work closely with Jakarta to meet the agreed targets.

The prime minister also offered to send Pakistani doctors, dentists, medical professors and other specialists to Indonesia to support the needs of medical universities and hospitals.

“Whatever is possible for us in this regard, we will do it without any delay,” he said.

PM Shehbaz praised Indonesia’s strong stand on Gaza and said its support had helped push the region closer to peace, despite continuing violations of the ceasefire by Israel. He added that President Subianto’s visit would elevate the bilateral relationship to a higher level and promote peace and progress for both nations and the wider region.

President Subianto thanked the government and people of Pakistan for the warm reception and said his meeting with PM Shehbaz had produced concrete agreements in trade, education, agriculture, science and technology.

He highlighted the shared values between the two countries and described both as major Muslim nations that promote moderate, tolerant and inclusive interpretations of Islam.

He welcomed Pakistan’s offer to send medical professionals to Indonesia and said he had instructed his ministers to accelerate efforts to rebalance trade relations. “We want to move as fast as possible in all these fields,” he added.

During the visit, both leaders witnessed the signing of seven MoUs and agreements covering higher education, scholarship grants, SME development, collaboration between national archives, narcotics control, Halal trade and certification, and cooperation in health, according to Radio Pakistan.

In a separate meeting, President Subianto met Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir. According to ISPR, the discussion focused on regional security and expanding defence cooperation.

Both sides reaffirmed collaboration in training, counter terrorism and capacity building. Subianto praised the professionalism of the Pakistan Armed Forces, while CDF Munir said Pakistan aims to broaden defence ties with Indonesia.