At US Chamber of Commerce Iftar, Prabowo Declares Indonesia Has Never Defaulted on Debt
Jakarta (ANTARA) — President Prabowo Subianto, speaking at an iftar dinner and business summit hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC on Wednesday (18 February), declared that Indonesia has never defaulted on its debt throughout its history, supported by strong economic foundations and a credible fiscal track record.
“We have managed our economy wisely for many years. We have never defaulted, not once in our history. We have never failed to pay our debts,” the President said, as relayed by the Presidential Secretariat in Jakarta on Thursday.
The President added that successive governments have always honoured the debts of their predecessors, even when those governments were fierce political opponents of one another.
President Prabowo outlined his administration’s commitment to strengthening the national economic foundation through governance reform, improving human resource quality, and firm law enforcement to create a stable and conducive investment climate.
The head of state also acknowledged that Indonesia still faces significant challenges, including poverty, hunger and child nutrition problems. However, President Prabowo stressed that his approach is to confront issues head-on and seek the best solutions.
“I believe that problems must be addressed directly. We must have the courage to acknowledge our weaknesses and do our best to find the best solutions,” he said.
As part of a long-term strategy, President Prabowo announced the establishment of ten new STEM-based universities (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine) to address the shortage of medical professionals and accelerate the development of high-quality human resources.
“We are short of 140,000 doctors and only graduate around 10,000 doctors per year. That means we need 14 years to close this gap, unless new efforts are made, and that is why I am establishing ten new STEM-based universities,” the President said.
In addition, the government has begun constructing 500 high-quality secondary schools and is opening educational sector collaborations with foreign institutions, including leading universities from the United Kingdom and the United States.
On governance, President Prabowo affirmed a strong commitment to eradicating corruption and illegal economic activities, including illegal mining and logging.
“I have just shut down 1,000 illegal mines. They were mining in protected forests. I have also seized approximately four million hectares of land from corporations that violated laws and regulations, operating outside their permitted areas, beyond their concessions, and so forth,” he said.
President Prabowo emphasised that law enforcement and regulatory certainty are top priorities to create the social and political stability that supports the business community.
“We are enforcing the law. We are striving to create an atmosphere of legal process certainty. I believe all of this will contribute to a climate of social stability, political stability, and will create a conducive environment for business and economic activity,” he said.