What happened
Indonesia’s defence minister, Lieutenant General (retd) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, called on Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on Monday, 12 January 2026, expressing Jakarta’s desire to widen defence cooperation with Pakistan across multiple domains. The same day, the visiting minister and a defence delegation also met Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu at Air Headquarters in Islamabad, according to separate Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statements.
What was discussed
According to the ISPR statement carried by Dawn, the meeting with CDF Munir focused on “matters of mutual interest, evolving regional and global security dynamics, and exploration of avenues for enhancing bilateral defence cooperation.” Both sides underscored the importance of “strengthening institutional linkages, training collaboration and defence industrial cooperation.”
The Indonesian defence minister is reported to have “lauded the professionalism of Pakistan’s armed forces and acknowledged their sacrifices in the fight against terrorism.” CDF Munir, in turn, “reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to fostering a strong and enduring defence relationship with Indonesia, based on shared values, mutual respect, and convergence of strategic interests.”
In the separate Air HQ meeting, the PAF chief briefed the delegation on “PAF’s modernisation drive, including infrastructure development, revamped training and the induction of niche capabilities to enhance readiness for multi-domain operations.” The Indonesian minister is said to have praised PAF’s professionalism, combat readiness and indigenisation achievements under the National Aerospace Science and Technology Park, and to have “expressed strong interest in expanding cooperation in training, aviation and aerospace domains.”
Why it matters
The visit comes a month after Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s December 2025 trip to Pakistan, during which the two sides signed agreements covering halal trade, small and medium enterprises, higher education, anti-narcotics and health cooperation. The 10 December 2025 Dawn report on that visit said the two leaders “agreed to further strengthen their defence cooperation” and that “both sides agreed to deepen collaboration through enhanced high-level military interactions, institutionalising defence industrial cooperation, specialised training programmes, and exchanges between military training institutions.”
On 12 January, the back-to-back GHQ and Air HQ meetings move that December-level commitment from political broadside into concrete service- level talks. The explicit mention of the National Aerospace Science and Technology Park, where PAF develops indigenised capabilities, and the Indonesian minister’s stated interest in “training, aviation and aerospace domains,” point to air-force-led aviation training and technology exchange as the most concrete near-term deliverable. Two days earlier, the Iraqi Air Force commander had expressed keen interest in JF-17 Thunder jets in talks with Pakistan’s air chief.
The bilateral also fits a wider sequence of defence-diplomacy meetings Field Marshal Munir has hosted since taking over as CDF, similar in shape to the 8 January 2026 visit by Bangladesh Air Force Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan to GHQ and Naval Headquarters (see related meeting on 8 January).
What is still uncertain
The ISPR statements do not specify dates for any joint exercise, training slot, or industrial offset. It is not clear which Indonesian service or agency will absorb the air force’s training proposal, or whether PAF’s National Aerospace Science and Technology Park exports will be tied to a specific Indonesian platform requirement. The Indonesian minister’s “interest” is on the record, but no contract has been disclosed.
