Amid Trump pressure on West Asia, Turkey’s Erdogan holds talks with Indonesia’s Prabowo

Amid US President Donald Trump’s plan to acquire the Gaza Strip and displace all Palestinians living there, Turkey and Indonesia have found common ground in rejecting it and putting their weight behind the Palestinian cause.

Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War following the Hamas-led October 7 attack, Turkey has been one of the foremost critics of Israel. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan even
threatened to invade Israel at one point. He has hosted Hamas delegations in Turkey and has exchanged barbs with the Israeli leadership throughout the war. On the other than, Indonesia has also supported the Palestinian cause staunchly. It is widely said to have the largest Muslim population in the world.

In Erdogan’s meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, the two leaders will dicuss current regional and global issues, particularly the war in Gaza, according to a Turkish statement carried by Associated Press.

Erdogan is on a four-day foreign visit to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan. Earlier, he met Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday and said he was opposed to Trumo’s proposal for Gaza and said Israel should pay for Gaza’s reconstruction.

“We do not consider the proposal to exile the Palestinians from the lands they have lived in for thousands of years as something to be taken seriously,” said Erdogan, according to AP.

Erdogan is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan later in the day and hold talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Under Erdogan,
Islamism has become central to Turkey’s foreign policy. Erdogan has increasingly pitched his rule as the successor of the Caliph’s rule, which was abolished after defeat in the World War I, and has portrayed Turkey as the leader of the world’s Muslims, countering the traditional leadership of Saudi Arabia that is the custodian of Islam’s holiest sites in Mecca and Medina.

The developing Turkey-Indonesia ties

Erdogan is in Turkey to hold talks with Prabowo under the framework of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council Summit.

Ahead of the visit, Indonesian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Rolliansyah Soemirat said that the framework is the “highest regular bilateral forum between the two countries where all matters of common interest will be discussed, including strategic issues and priorities”.

In recent years, Turkey and Indonesia have bppsted their ties. Last year, the two leaders met in Turkey and Prabowo at the time pledged to “elevate defense cooperation and other strategic fields for mutual benefit”.

Under a defence cooperation pact signed in 2010, the two countries are jointly developing a tank. In 2023, the two countries reached an arrangement for joint military exercises and defence industrial cooperation.

Overall, the two countries plan to sign deals related to trade, investment, education, and technology during the visit.