Prabowo Guarantees Conducive Investment Climate in Indonesia Before American Business Leaders
Jakarta — President Prabowo Subianto, speaking before American business leaders from the US Chamber of Commerce (USCC), the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), and the US-Indonesia Society (USINDO), guaranteed that the Indonesian government would consistently maintain a conducive investment climate.
This conducive climate, as President Prabowo explained during his address at the Business Summit held at the US Chamber of Commerce building in Washington DC on Wednesday afternoon local time, is evidenced by stability across various sectors — from economics to politics — along with rule of law as the government’s top priority, and a commitment to continue eradicating corruption and cartels.
“No one will invest in a situation or climate that is uncertain, unstable, or even chaotic. We are fortunate because Indonesia has been quite stable over a long period, and the situation has been quite peaceful. We also continue our independent and active foreign policy, respecting all major powers,” President Prabowo said in his summit address.
In the same speech, President Prabowo went on to articulate his guiding principle through a proverb: “A thousand friends are too few, one enemy is too many.” This principle, for President Prabowo, applies not only to the “good neighbour policy” in foreign affairs but also to domestic politics.
Prabowo continued by stating that whilst competition is important, what matters most after competing is that all parties continue to work together, collaborate, and compromise with one another.
“This is my conviction, and I believe history has taught us that a nation at Indonesia’s level of development must prioritise compromise, cooperation, and collaboration among elites in our country. Competition must exist, but collaboration and cooperation for the benefit of the greater number of people must take precedence,” the President said, explaining his strategy for maintaining domestic stability.
Beyond that, President Prabowo also stressed the importance of upholding legal certainty and clean governance, as well as maintaining fiscal discipline in managing state finances.
On the same occasion, the President disclosed that foreign investment entering Indonesia last year reached USD 53 billion. “In my view, this reflects concrete confidence in our economy given its current size, its growth potential, and the political stability aligned with our current policies,” Prabowo said.
Before the American business leaders, President Prabowo then introduced the Danantara Investment Management Agency as Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, outlined investment opportunities that businesses could explore, and highlighted achievements the government had secured over the past year, including the Free Nutritious Meals programme (MBG) and the digitalisation of the education sector through the distribution of interactive flat panels (IFP) to schools.