King Abdullah II’s visit to Jakarta last week did not produce dramatic announcements, but it highlighted two converging diplomatic shifts. Indonesia was widening its engagement across the Middle East beyond its long-standing Gulf focus, while Jordan sought deeper ties in Asia to expand its economic and political options. The visit mattered because it reflected these parallel recalibrations.

The King was personally welcomed by Prabowo at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta, before receiving a grand ceremony at the Merdeka Palace. The two leaders discussed developments in ties and opportunities for further cooperation, including plans for more intensive economic collaboration, particularly in Jordan’s phosphate sector, with Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, playing a central role.

Indonesia and Jordan had maintained warm relations for decades, yet neither had traditionally been central to the other’s foreign policy. Jakarta’s Middle East priorities had long revolved around Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar—countries bound to Indonesia through labour links, investment, and trade. Recently, however, Indonesia had been broadening its regional footprint, recognizing the value of cultivating a wider set of relationships. Jordan, politically steady and diplomatically active, fit naturally into this expanded approach.

For Jordan, shifting regional dynamics and economic pressures strengthened the case for cultivating Asian partners. Indonesia, a major nonaligned state with growing diplomatic reach, offered a combination of political neutrality and economic potential that complemented Jordan’s traditional alliances. King Abdullah’s visit underscored that Amman’s outreach to Asia was becoming more systematic, not simply rhetorical.

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