Macron decorates Indonesia leader, announces cultural partnership
French President Emmanuel Macron bestowed Indonesia's leader with France's top award on Thursday, before announcing a new cultural partnership with Jakarta on a visit to the world's largest Buddhist temple.
Macron's trip to Indonesia is the second stop of a three-nation, six-day tour of Southeast Asia that began with Vietnam and concludes in Singapore.
After meeting for talks in the capital Jakarta, Macron and his counterpart Prabowo Subianto flew by helicopter on Thursday from Javan city Yogyakarta to a military academy in Magelang, a city in Central Java surrounded by mountains.
The pair attended a military parade and Macron gave Prabowo the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, France's highest military or civil award.
Prabowo is an ex-general accused of rights abuses under dictator Suharto's rule in the late 1990s. He was discharged from the military over his role in the abductions of democracy activists but denied the allegations and was never charged.
Macron rode in a jeep driven by Prabowo with the pair welcomed by a marching band and hundreds of students waving Indonesian flags.
Macron then visited Borobudur, a Buddhist temple built in the 9th century that is the world's largest, where the pair announced they were boosting cultural ties.
"In front of this temple, we are taking an important step by launching a new cultural partnership," said Macron.
"The first pillar is heritage and museum cooperation. The second pillar is cultural and creative industries," he said.
Macron said the basis of the new partnership would be cinema and fashion, as well as video games, design and gastronomy.
The French leader will now depart for Singapore where he will deliver the opening address Friday at the Shangri-la Dialogue, Asia's premier security forum.
On Wednesday, the pair called for progress on "mutual recognition" between Israel and the Palestinians at a key meeting next month as Macron brought the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation into his diplomatic efforts.
"Indonesia has stated that once Israel recognises Palestine, Indonesia is ready to recognise Israel and open the diplomatic relationship," said Prabowo.
Indonesia has no formal ties with Israel and support for the Palestinian cause among Indonesians runs high.
The nations also signed a series of agreements on cooperation in a range of fields including defence, trade, agriculture, disaster management, culture and transport.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Harpers Bazaar Arabia
39 minutes ago
- Harpers Bazaar Arabia
The One That Started It All: Jane Birkin's Original Hermès Bag Heads to Auction at Sotheby's
This July, Sotheby's Paris will offer collectors and admirers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to own the original Birkin—the very handbag designed for and with Jane Birkin herself, that would go on to define modern luxury. For decades, the Birkin has held court as the most recognisable and elusive accessory on the planet. But before it became […] This July, Sotheby's Paris will offer collectors and admirers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to own the original Birkin—the very handbag designed for and with Jane Birkin herself, that would go on to define modern luxury. For decades, the Birkin has held court as the most recognisable and elusive accessory on the planet. But before it became synonymous with waitlists and wealth, it was just a beautifully made black leather bag, crafted by Hermès in 1984 for a woman known for turning simple into chic. That exact bag will lead Sotheby's inaugural Fashion Icons auction in Paris on July 10, just as the world's style set descends on the capital for Haute Couture Week. Exhibited publicly only a handful of times—from Sotheby's Paris galleries to their Hong Kong maison—the original Birkin is marked by seven unique design details that separate it from every iteration since. While the first Birkin bags created by Hermès were 40 cm in size, and then by 35 cm in size, the original Birkin is a hybrid of the two sizes; It has the width and height of a Birkin 35 with the depth of a Birkin 40, with unique studs, zipper, hardware and the strap. A handmade prototype rich with patina and lived-in character, it is unmistakably Jane: practical, iconic, and a little bit rebellious. Before it goes under the hammer, the bag will appear in a rare public showing at Sotheby's New York galleries from June 6-12. 'It's incredible to think that a bag designed as a practical solution has grown into such a defining emblem of luxury,' says Morgane Halimi, Sotheby's Global Head of Handbags and Fashion. 'The prototype that started it all carries a soul and legacy that no other handbag can claim.' 'There are rare moments when an object transcends trend and becomes a legend,' Halimi continues. 'Jane Birkin's original bag is such a moment. A true unicorn in fashion history, it belongs in the same breath as Princess Diana's Black Sheep jumper or Freddie Mercury's crown and cloak.' The bag's final sale estimate remains confidential, but expectations are unsurprisingly high. What Sotheby's does confirm is that the bag will join an illustrious line-up of archival fashion pieces in the Paris Fashion Icons sale—from sculptural pieces by Thierry Mugler to rare runway looks by Dior, Galliano, McQueen, and Azzedine Alaïa. Bidding will open online from June 26 to July 10, and viewings will be held at Sotheby's Paris galleries on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré from July 3-9. As always, Sotheby's continues to lead the secondary market for Hermès handbags—whether it's a crisp white Himalaya, a neon Limited Edition, or the rarest collector's pieces in alligator, ostrich, or box calf. Today, over 1,200 Hermès bags are available for immediate purchase on Sotheby's Buy Now platform, a digital trove for serious collectors and first-timers alike. But none of them carry the legacy of this one. Because only one bag was carried by Jane Birkin—and only one started it all.
Zawya
8 hours ago
- Zawya
Global energy investment set to rise to $3.3trln in 2025: IEA
PARIS - The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that global energy investment is set to increase in 2025 to a record US$3.3 trillion despite headwinds from elevated geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, with clean energy technologies attracting twice as much capital as fossil fuels. In its new World Energy Investment 2025 report, IEA stated that investment in clean technologies – renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency and electrification – is on course to hit a record US$2.2 trillion this year. The report explained that investment in solar, both utility-scale and rooftop, is expected to reach US$450 billion in 2025, making it the single largest item in the global energy investment inventory. Battery storage investments are also climbing rapidly, surging above US$65 billion this year. Lower oil prices and demand expectations are set to result in the first year-on-year fall in upstream oil investment since 2020, according to the report, with an expected 6 percent drop driven by lower oil prices and demand expectations.
The National
10 hours ago
- The National
Global energy investments to hit record $3.3tn in 2025, despite uncertainty and geopolitical tensions
Investments in the global energy sector are set to hit a record $3.3 trillion in 2025 despite economic uncertainty and rising geopolitical tensions, the International Energy Agency said. A total of $2.2 trillion will be invested in renewables, nuclear energy, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency and electrification, with $1.1 trillion to go into oil, natural gas and coal, the Paris-based IEA said in its World Energy Investment 2025 report on Thursday. The total is up about 2 per cent in real terms compared with 2024. "Open questions about the economic and trade outlook means that some investors are adopting a wait-and-see approach to new project approvals, but we have yet to see significant implications for spending on existing projects," it said. Part of the growth is fuelled by rapidly rising requirements for artificial intelligence-powered data centres around the world. Spending in the electricity industry, the main power source for data centres, is set to reach $1.5 trillion this year, the IEA said. "Rapid growth in spending on energy transitions over the past five years was kicked off by post-pandemic recovery packages and then sustained by a variety of economic, technology, industrial and energy security considerations, not only by climate policies," the agency added. The increased activity will be complemented by the doubling of investments into low-emissions power generation, the IEA said. Spending in the solar industry, in particular, is projected to hit $450 billion in 2025, making it the largest single item in the IEA's inventory of global investments, the report said. "Fierce competition among suppliers and ultra-low costs are seeing imported solar panels, often paired with batteries, become an important driver of energy investment in many emerging and developing economies," it added. Conversely, upstream oil investments are projected to be under $570 billion in 2025. That would be a 6 per cent decline, marking the first annual drop since the Covid-induced slide in 2020 and the largest since 2016, the IEA said. Global refinery investment is set to hit its lowest level in a decade. The decrease is being attributed to lower oil prices and demand expectations, amid economic uncertainties. Opec+, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, has sought to prop up the market with last week's announcement of a third straight month of output increases in July. "Our initial expectation for 2025, based on company announcements, was that upstream oil and gas spending would be flat, but sentiment has since become more downbeat as oil prices came under pressure," the report said. Despite the expected record spending this year, the industry is still adopting a wait-and-see approach on new energy project approvals. The IEA acknowledged it has yet to identify "significant implications for spending on existing projects", executive director Fatih Birol said. Global tariffs, initiated by the administration of US President Donald Trump, would also be felt in America's oil and gas industry, as higher levies on imported steel and aluminium may put cost pressures on the sector, the IEA said. "Tariffs and inflation are affecting production costs – especially for basic materials," the report said. Experts have said that countries should realign their strategies to attain energy independence, which will help them cope with future uncertainties. "Today's energy decision makers are facing new geopolitical tensions and the risk of energy shocks remains high," the IEA said. Geographical shift Additionally, the shifting of energy investment along geographical lines is expected to have long-term implications, the report found. China remains the biggest global energy investor by a wide margin. Its share of global clean energy investment has risen from a quarter a decade ago to nearly a third at present, the IEA said. On the other hand, the US ha seen its spending on renewables and low-emissions fuels almost double in the past 10 years, but that is now expected to level off as Washington pulls back on policies that support the clean energy sector to promote the fossil fuel industry. The Middle East, meanwhile, continues to spend heavily on upstream oil and gas, with the region's share of global upstream investment set to hit a record 20 per cent this year, the IEA said. A large portion of this spending is to be used to expand projects for natural gas, including the Jafurah field in Saudi Arabia, the liquefied natural gasfields of Rub Al Khali in the UAE and the North Field developments in Qatar, it added.
