Why is the Relation Between President Prabowo and King Abdullah II so Close?

RRI.CO.ID, Amman – The close friendship between President Prabowo Subianto and King Abdullah II of Jordan was seen during their meeting at Basman Palace in Amman on Wednesday, 25 February 2026. This is a testament to their decades-long friendship, a representation of relations between Indonesia and the Middle Eastern country.

Right after Prabowo stepped into the palace, as part of another Prabowo's Middle East visit, King Abdullah II welcomed Prabowo with a hug. Prabowo was welcomed in a welcoming ceremony, where Jordanian royal honor guards stood and saluted him.

"Good to see you. Welcome back to Jordan," King Abdullah II stated.

During the meeting, King Abdullah II referred to Prabowo as his "dear brother". He described his friendship with Prabowo as "very special".

"It's always a pleasure to see you, and especially here in your second home in Jordan. I know that my people, your people, know that we have had this very special brotherly relationship between both of us for many, many years," King Abdullah II stated during the meeting.

"So whenever I see you, whether it's in Indonesia or here in Jordan or elsewhere, it is always a good day to have my dear friend here," he said.

Prabowo confirmed that Jordan is his "second home". As he expressed Ramadan greeting to the Jordanian people, he thanked King Abdullah II for the "warm welcome and great honor".

"Thank you, Your Majesty. It's always, for me, a great pleasure to come to my second home here. We have known each other for many decades, I think," Prabowo said.

The bond between Prabowo and King Abdullah II dates back to the mid-1980s. They underwent the same army training at Fort Benning, Georgia, United States.

The Reform era in 1998 and the fall of former 32-year president Suharto changed the course of history among many Indonesians, including Prabowo. Prabowo was a Commander of the Army Strategic Command (Kostrad), and the era indirectly secured his fate in Jordan.

Prabowo, at the time, was accused of being the man behind the kidnapping of students during mass protests at the time. Suharto's successor, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, removed him from his commander position, and he was honorably discharged from the Indonesian Army.

"In mid-1998, I was accused of various things. Therefore, I chose to go into exile in Jordan," he said in his social media post in X in 2014.

He was warmly received by Abdullah II, who was then still the Crown Prince. Shortly after King Hussein died in February 1999, Abdullah II was inaugurated as the king of Jordan.

During his exile, Prabowo was granted Jordanian citizenship by King Abdullah II, while he did not renounce his Indonesian citizenship. Prabowo was offered to stay in one of the royal palaces, but he declined, preferring to live in an apartment.

He lived there for about three years until 2001, although he briefly went home to Indonesia in 2000 to see his ailing father.

As King Abdullah II is in power, and Prabowo was elected president of Indonesia about 25 years later, their friendship is only more clearly shown to the public. In April 2025, as Prabowo visited Jordan as part of his Middle East visit, Jordan, under King Abdullah II, sent its fighter jets to escort the Indonesian presidential aircraft.

"Thank you for receiving me, thank you for escorting me," he said to the jet pilots.

In his return visit to Indonesia, King Abdullah II presented Prabowo the Grand Cordon with Brilliants of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance. It is the second-most senior order of merit in Jordan, only below the Order of Al-Hussein bin Ali.