Arab War Erupts, AHY Speaks Out, Delivers Important Message from Prabowo

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY), laments the outbreak of war in the Middle East. The conflict, he says, has direct and indirect impacts on all parties, including Indonesia.

‘This is actually not an easy period for the world, and it is ironic that during the holy month of Ramadan, we honour and revere, war and conflict, loss of life, destruction occur, especially in the Middle East, and all of that will surely have direct and indirect impacts,’ he said on the sidelines of the World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development (WED) 2026, on Wednesday (4 March 2026).

Economically, he continued, the conflict in the Middle East could pose serious disruptions to global and Indonesia’s energy security. Therefore, he said, President Prabowo Subianto stresses the importance of Indonesia having self-reliance in food, energy and water security.

‘People are not always aware that water issues are also fundamental. When there is a drought we have less water, it dries up, harvests fail, and household supplies are insufficient. In the rainy season, especially with extreme rainfall, we have too much water, floods, and so on, and our water is often not of good quality and may not be suitable for drinking,’ he explained.

‘Self-reliance, that President Prabowo Subianto stresses food security, energy security plus, actually water security. People are often not aware that water issues are also very fundamental. When the drought comes, we have less water, it dries up, harvests fail, less supply for households,’ he said.

AHY stressed that the government will continue to focus on driving the food and energy self-sufficiency programmes. If there are shocks such as energy price spikes or global energy supply disruptions, Indonesia must have appropriate mitigation measures.

Furthermore, AHY hopes the war in the Middle East will not be protracted, although no one can be sure about the escalation there. Even the United States cannot determine what is happening in the Middle East, including the impacts of the war.

‘I think we all must be ready; we will continue to push infrastructure to build food, energy and water self-sufficiency, including for human resources,’ he concluded.