Former president Joko Widodo and President Prabowo Subianto posing for a photograph on Nov 3, 2024, in Surakarta. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
JAKARTA: A presidential spokesman described on Monday (Nov 4) the gathering between President Prabowo Subianto and his predecessor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as a meeting between best friends and said that the two did not discuss politics.
Hasan Nasbi, chief of President Prabowo's Communication Office, said in a video statement issued on Monday that the meeting was an informal one as indicated by the fact that the President was not driven in a presidential car.
"Pak Prabowo was on his way back to Jakarta from Merauke, South Papua. He made a stopover in Bali and then Solo. The meeting in Solo was a meeting between two best friends," Hasan said, referring to Surakarta's by its old name.
Hasan said that in the meeting, Prabowo and Jokowi did not discuss weighty political subjects.
"There's no special agenda, no heavy agenda from this meeting of friends," Hasan said.
The President arrived on Sunday evening at Jokowi's private residence in Banjarsari subdistrict, where he spent 30 minutes before the pair headed out to Omah Semar, a popular local eatery serving Javanese foods and snacks.
Sunday’s meeting was the first between Prabowo and Jokowi since the transfer of power on Oct. 20, and came less than a week before the President kicks off his first overseas tour on Nov 8 to China, the United States, Peru, Brazil and the United Kingdom. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
