Through an exceptional friendship, Indonesia and the UAE are prioritizing a new political alliance that will spur massive development deals

In September 2015, near the end of his first year serving as Indonesia’s leader, President Joko Widodo embarked on a five-day Middle East tour that would redefine regional relations. One of the stops on that tour was Abu Dhabi, where President “Jokowi” first officially met His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The moment was prophetic, setting off a chain of events that have brought the UAE and Indonesia closer than ever before.

Since that first meeting, the two rulers have developed a rare friendship, one that takes the usual starchy world of high-level diplomacy to a more personal level. The leaders appeared to quickly develop a sense of intimacy, as exemplified by Sheikh Mohamed’s decision to invite Jokowi to lunch with him at a public venue.

According to Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, the Indonesian cabinet official closest to the blossoming relationship, the two leaders have come to refer to one another as “brothers.” During President Jokowi’s visit, Sheikh Mohamed gifted Indonesia with a mosque as a “token of their brotherhood.”

That the official missions and personal politics of these two powerful men intersect make this exceptional cordiality more likely. Both leaders are considered moderates, preferring to oppose the influence of political Islam. They are also both vocal advocates in combating terrorism.

For Sheikh Mohamed, there is a strong desire to diversify his economy and further develop the UAE as a global trade and logistics hub, goals that the world’s largest Muslim country, Indonesia, with its vast natural resources, can contribute to through with major investment opportunities. For President Jokowi, finding partners and funding to help materialize an ambitious $412 billion infrastructure plan, as well as the construction of a new capital for Indonesia seemed to naturally bring him to the UAE.

To steer this new course, the UAE has injected $6.8 billion into Indonesia’s new sovereign wealth fund to support critical development projects, including the nation’s new capital in East Kalimantan. Moreover, Emirati companies are now actively pursuing joint ventures in projects in the ICT and defense sectors, the latter of which President Jokowi has allocated $9.6 billion, a 20% boost from last year’s budget.

There is reason to believe these deals will materialize as planned. After their meeting in Abu Dhabi last January, when the historic $23 billion deal was signed, Sheikh Mohamed offered to build Indonesia a mosque. To show he meant what he said, a few days later Abu Dhabi’s $232 billion Mubadala wealth fund sent officials to scout construction sites. Such readiness to pursue agreements is foretelling.