Indonesian president signs trade deal, defence pact with Canada

Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto arrives for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

OTTAWA — Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has signed a trade agreement and a defence agreement with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Parliament Hill, as Canada expands its ties with Southeast Asia.

Subianto said on Parliament Hill that the agreements are “very important for us, very strategic economically.”

Last November, both countries announced they had finished trade negotiations that started in 2021. The signed trade deal is comprehensive, meaning it opens up trade in multiple industries with the world’s fourth-most populous country.

Indonesia’s population of 280 million people is younger than most, and the country is on track to be one of the five largest economies by 2050. It has been trying to wean itself off fossil fuels, as it copes with threats to its vast biodiversity.

The deal comes into effect next year, and should drop prices for Canadian wheat, potash, wood and soybeans, according to Carney’s office.

Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu said the deal gives preferential access to Canada’s agriculture, energy, telecom, aerospace and defence sectors.

“It’s a massive growth that they’ve been seeing -- five per cent year over year for the last 10 years,” Sidhu said in an interview

“A lot of their population joined the middle class, wanting to spend money and wanting to buy good-quality goods -- and Canada can satisfy that appetite,” he said.

Sidhu said he tells Canadian companies looking to expand in Southeast Asia to start with Indonesia.

He also said Indonesia is looking “very seriously” at purchasing small modular nuclear reactors to help power remote islands. Canada is developing that technology, which aims to power remote and northern communities.

Sidhu said Indonesia’s corporate sector made “a record level of investments” into Canada last year, and Ottawa hopes to tap Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund to get major projects built in Canada as a result of the trade deal.

“People want to deal with a reliable, stable trading partner. And so, Canada is a beacon, when you look at countries that other folks want to deal with,” he said.

At a joint press conference with Subianto, Carney called the deal “a game-changing agreement” for Canadian business, just as business councils for both countries signed a co-operation agreement.

“With these new trade, investment and security partnerships, we’re creating the certainty and the security that our businesses need to increase trade and investment, and in turn to drive sustained growth that benefits and empowers our workers.”

Subianto touted Canada’s legacy for fighting poverty through aid initiatives linked to health, agriculture and peacekeeping.

“We consider Canada to be a very responsible, mature, leading power of the West, but with great empathy for the concerns of the developing nations,” he said.

The two also signed a defence co-operation agreement, which Carney’s office said “will deepen collaboration on military training and education, maritime security, cyber defence and peacekeeping.”

Subianto said that agreement aims to have more Indonesian youth trained in defence-related fields in Canada.

His visit comes just weeks after deadly protests across Indonesia over the cost of living and perks for parliamentarians, which have hit Subianto’s popularity.

Subianto also apologized for not attending the G7 summit in Alberta in June. His office originally announced he would be attending the summit, but then said he had a previously scheduled visit to Moscow, and the Russian Embassy in Ottawa highlighted his change in plans at the time, on social media.

“I also apologize that I could not come to the summit that you had invited me to come (to) on behalf of the Global South because of very tight scheduling,” he said to Carney.

Subianto also said Canada has a special place in his heart.

“I really admire Canada. As a young kid, I always wanted to be a Mountie,” he said, adding he was not kidding. “Maybe I’ll come back in a private capacity,” he said with a laugh.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press