Sudan09 September, 20262 min read
Indonesia’s Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin Meets Sudan Counterpart Hassan Daoud Kabroun Kayan in Jakarta
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Sudanese Defense Minister met Indonesia's counterpart to discuss enhanced defense and economic cooperation. First-ever visit by a Sudanese defense minister to Indonesia explored potential defense cooperation agreements.
7 outlets told this the same way.
Jakarta defense talks
Indonesia’s Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin met Sudanese counterpart Lt. General Hassan Daoud Kabroun Kayan in Jakarta on Wednesday (Sept. 9, 2026) to strengthen bilateral relations and defense cooperation.
ANTARA said the talks included potential joint initiatives on food security, with Sudan highlighting its “vast agricultural area and sizeable livestock sector,” and Indonesia responding that it saw the idea as “an opportunity worthy of following up.”
The meeting also covered human resource quality through education and training programs, military personnel and cadet exchanges, and partnerships between defense educational institutions, while Sudan voiced interest in sending more troops to Indonesia for capacity-building programs.
In parallel, the Indonesian Defense Ministry said the visit aimed to reinforce existing cooperation, particularly in the defense field, and that the Sudanese minister’s visit was the first of its kind for a Sudanese defense minister to travel to Indonesia.
Food security and war
After the meeting, ministry spokesperson Brig. General Rico Ricardo Sirait said Indonesia and Sudan discussed aligning Sudan’s strengths with Indonesia’s large-scale food security agenda, and he added that the Agriculture Ministry may be involved to forge mutually beneficial cooperation.
Sirait also said the two sides exchanged views on economic affairs and broader areas of cooperation, while Indonesia reiterated its concern for the safety and welfare of the Sudanese people amid a prolonged civil war.
In a separate account, Kabroun told the press via an interpreter that “So anyone hostile to Indonesia is an enemy of Sudan. Anyone hostile to Sudan is also Indonesia’s foe. We shall be together in doing good,” as he described “old and deep friendship” between the two countries.
Indonesia’s Defense Ministry spokesman Rico Ricardo Sirait later said Kabroun’s common enemy remark was “only a reflection of the deep emotional ties,” and he emphasized that Jakarta “wouldn’t get dragged into internal conflicts of other countries and [military] blocs.”
Arms, documents, and next steps
The talks also included defense cooperation that could extend into a formal arrangement, with Al-Jazeera Net describing discussions that potentially develop into a defense treaty while the Indonesian side said the details were still being prepared. Al-Jazeera Net reported that the Indonesian Defense Ministry said the meeting included a presentation by the Indonesian company Pindad of its various weapons to the Sudanese minister, to introduce the characteristics of locally manufactured weapons in Indonesia.
ANTARA said the two countries began drafting a document supporting potential defense cooperation, and Sirait confirmed that relevant ministries and agencies would study all the cooperation opportunities floated during the meeting. In the same vein, Al-Jazeera Net said the Indonesian official stressed that there is currently no official document governing bilateral defense cooperation, and that Jakarta continues to monitor security and humanitarian developments in Sudan as the parties examine the institutional framework for cooperation.