On March 13, Cheong Wa Dae (CWD) released two separate press releases announcing President Lee Jae Myung will welcome the presidents of Indonesia and France in rapid succession at the end of March and beginning of April, with the two visits briefly overlapping on April 2.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will arrive first, making a state visit from March 31 to April 2 at the invitation of President Lee. This will be President Prabowo's second visit to Korea in five months, following his attendance at the Gyeongju APEC Summit last October, where he held a bilateral summit with President Lee. French President Emmanuel Macron follows immediately, arriving April 2 for a visit through April 3 — the first European leader to make a state visit since the launch of the Lee administration, and the first French president to visit Korea in eleven years.
On April 1, Lee and Prabowo will participate in an official welcoming ceremony, a summit, a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony, and a state luncheon. Discussions are expected to cover ways to elevate the Korea–Indonesia Special Strategic Partnership, including deeper cooperation in trade and investment, defense and the defense industry, and new growth sectors such as AI and advanced technology, infrastructure, shipbuilding, nuclear energy, energy transition, and the cultural and creative industries. The two leaders will also discuss Korea–ASEAN relations and responses to major regional and global issues, including developments in the Middle East and on the Korean Peninsula.
Indonesia is ASEAN's largest economy, with the world's fourth-largest population and abundant natural resources. As the seat of the ASEAN Secretariat and the bloc's leading nation, Indonesia is actively pursuing economic and industrial advancement under its "Golden Indonesia Vision," which aims to achieve developed-nation status by 2045 — the centenary of Indonesian independence. The bilateral relationship has deep historical roots: Indonesia was the destination of Korea's first overseas investment and first arms export, and the two countries jointly developed Korea's first fighter aircraft. Approximately 2,300 Korean companies currently operate in Indonesia, and annual people-to-people exchanges reach 800,000 visits.
The Lee–Macron summit on April 3 will similarly include an official welcoming ceremony, summit talks, a treaty and memorandum of understanding signing ceremony, and a state luncheon. On March 3, Seoul Economic Daily reported that the the two leaders held their first official meeting on November 23 last year on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in South Africa and that Cheong Wa Dae is engaged in negotiations to arrange subsequent visits from the leaders of Germany and the United Kingdom.
The discussions between Lee and Macron are expected to range across trade and investment, AI, quantum technology, space, nuclear energy, and science, education, and cultural cooperation, with the aim of elevating the bilateral relationship to a strategic level. As a permanent UN Security Council member, France will also engage Korea on Korean Peninsula security and Middle East developments. This year marks the 140th anniversary of Korea–France diplomatic relations, with diverse cultural events planned throughout the year in both countries. France is Korea's third-largest trading partner within the EU, and over 800,000 South Koreans visit France annually.
Both visits are expected to build on over a half-century of bilateral trust — Korea and Indonesia established diplomatic relations in 1973 — and to advance Korea's role as a responsible middle power contributing to regional and global stability and peace.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(CWD press releases translated by AI, edited by David Kendall)
