Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has expressed keen interest in leveraging the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) training ecosystem and aerospace development infrastructure to enhance his country’s defence capabilities, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Friday.

The Indonesian president made his interest known during a meeting with Pakistan’s chief of air staff, Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, who called on the former during an official visit to Indonesia, a statement by ISPR said.

“During the meeting, the air chief underscored the shared values and longstanding brotherhood between Pakistan and Indonesia, and President Prabowo expressed keen interest in leveraging PAF’s state-of-the-art training ecosystem and aerospace development infrastructure to enhance Indonesia’s defence capabilities,” the statement read.

Earlier, the statement said, the air chief held separate high-level meetings with Indonesian Defence Minister Lieutenant General (Retd) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, the commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces and the Indonesian Air Marshal.

He was accorded a guard of honour at all venues, the statement added.

“During discussion with the Indonesian air chief, both sides discussed enhanced air force-to-air force cooperation, joint training from basic to advanced levels, professional exchanges, and collaboration in emerging aerospace domains,” the ISPR statement said.

It further stated that the Indonesian air chief sought the PAF’s support in advancing operational and flying training, acknowledging its rich combat experience.

The highest award of the Indonesian Air Force, the Medal of Honour, was conferred upon ACM Sidhu in recognition of his role in strengthening bilateral air power cooperation, the statement added.

ISPR said ACM Sidhu also held a joint meeting with the Indonesian defence minister and chief of defence forces, during which a wide range of defence and security matters were discussed.

“The Indonesian leadership appreciated the PAF’s professionalism, modernisation drive, and lauded the advanced technological infrastructure of the National Aerospace Science & Technology Park,” the ISPR statement concluded.

The Indonesian defence minister, who was leading a delegation, also met ACM Sidhu when he visited Pakistan in January.

During that meeting at Air Headquarters in Islamabad, the air chief briefed the delegation on the PAF’s modernisation drive, including infrastructure development, revamped training and the induction of niche capabilities to enhance readiness for multi-domain operations.

For his part, the Indonesian defence minister praised the PAF’s professionalism, combat readiness and indigenisation achievements under the National Aerospace Science and Technology Park, expressing strong interest in expanding cooperation in training, aviation and aerospace domains.

Separately, the defence minister had also met Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

“The meeting focused on matters of mutual interest, evolving regional and global security dynamics, and exploration of avenues for enhancing bilateral defence cooperation,” a statement by ISPR said at the time.