Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto headed to Egypt on Tuesday to attend meetings of a group of eight major Muslim developing countries, known as the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, the government said.

The D-8, which groups Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey, was established in 1997 to improve cooperation between the countries stretching from Southeast Asia to Africa. Indonesia will chair the grouping starting in January 2026. 

Prabowo said he would also meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. 

"Egypt is our close friend, our strategic partner and an important country in the Middle East," he said before his departure, adding he would also meet the Egyptian business community.

From Egypt he will travel to Malaysia before heading back to Indonesia.    

Prabowo, who took office in October, has said his presidency would continue Indonesia's long-held foreign policy of non-alignment. 

He has visited more than 20 countries since being elected president earlier this year, including China, the United States, Japan, and Russia.