Prabowo Subianto, President-elect for the period 2024-2029, emphasized the importance of building a strong foundation for the country’s progress at the Qatar Economic Forum held in Doha, Qatar from May 14 to 16, 2024.
During his dialog with Haslinda Amin, Chief International Correspondent for Southeast Asia at Bloomberg, Prabowo affirmed that nation-building is a continuous process. He also highlighted President Joko Widodo’s efforts in laying a strong foundation for future progress.
“As you know, nation-building is a long-term process. President Joko Widodo has laid a strong foundation. I am determined to build on that foundation. My main focus is food security,” said Prabowo.
Furthermore, when asked about priorities, Prabowo stressed the importance of self-sufficiency and food and energy security.
“My main focus is food security. Indonesia must be self-sufficient in food, and then energy security, sufficient energy. We are determined to eradicate poverty, with large-scale campaigns and efforts,” he continued.
Continuing the dialog, Prabowo firmly stated his commitment to addressing nutrition issues for Indonesian children through a free lunch program.
“I am determined to eliminate hunger in our people. We have studied this. We have studied all the numbers, and we are very confident that we can do it,” he said.
Regarding funding for these programs, Prabowo mentioned that Indonesia has a tradition of careful fiscal management, and under his leadership, he will be more efficient, bold, and with good governance.
During the event, Prabowo also expressed his commitment to continuing the industrial downstreaming policy.
“We must protect our interests in the sense that we must get the added value. We cannot continue to import industrial goods. This is not good for our people. We will not become an advanced industrial society if we only produce raw materials,” Prabowo said.
Therefore, Prabowo reiterated that his work plan is a concrete step towards bringing Indonesia towards sustainable prosperity. He also emphasized the importance of collaboration with international parties.
During this event, Prabowo was accompanied by Vice President-elect for the period 2024-2029, Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
