Minister to Write to Prabowo to Arrange Meeting with Leaders of 30 Underdeveloped Regions
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Minister of Villages and Underdeveloped Regions Development (Mendes PDT), Yandri Susanto, will write to President Prabowo Subianto to arrange a meeting between the President and the leaders of 30 underdeveloped regions.
“Yes, we will send the official letter as soon as possible,” said Yandri when met at the Ministry of Villages and Underdeveloped Regions Development (Kemendes PDT), Jakarta, Wednesday (25/1/2026).
“But the main point is that these 30 regional leaders, the regents, really want to be received by the President to convey the issues they face directly,” he explained.
This was conveyed when Amizaro gave a speech representing the 30 underdeveloped regions at the Coordination Meeting for Accelerating the Development of Underdeveloped Regions at the Ministry of Villages and Underdeveloped Regions Development (Kemendes PDT), Jakarta, Wednesday (25/2/2026).
“Secondly, not to diminish respect, but it would be good if we, the underdeveloped regions, could have access to the Minister so that we can meet with the President of the Republic of Indonesia. Do you agree?” said Amizaro.
The statement was immediately met with approval from all the regional leaders or representatives present at the forum.
According to Amizaro, this meeting is important because it concerns the fundamental issues of national development.
He added that the issue of underdeveloped regions has also been included in the sixth point of the President’s Asta Cita, which is a priority for the government.
“Moreover, this is already in the sixth point, if I’m not mistaken, as part of the Asta Cita of our beloved President,” he explained.
This was conveyed by the Director General of Acceleration of Underdeveloped Regions Development at the Ministry of Villages PDT, Samsul Widodo, at the Coordination Meeting for Accelerating the Development of Underdeveloped Regions at the Kemendes PDT, Jakarta, Wednesday (25/2/2026).
“There are still 30 underdeveloped regencies. So, these 30 underdeveloped regencies are spread across several provinces,” said Samsul.
In North Sumatra, there is Nias Utara Regency. In East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), there are three regencies, namely Sumba Tengah, Sumba Barat Daya, and Sabu Raijua. The rest are in several provinces in Papua, including West Papua, Southwest Papua, Papua, South Papua, Papua Mountains, and Central Papua.
The assessment includes dimensions of health, education, decent living standards, the percentage of poor people, and the Village Index.
He explained that the Village Index consists of six dimensions, namely basic services, social, economic, environmental, accessibility, and village governance.