Prabowo Highlights Indonesia's Assistance to Australia and Brazil in Providing Fertiliser
President Prabowo Subianto claims that several countries have begun requesting assistance with fertiliser and rice supplies from Indonesia amid global turmoil caused by the war in the Middle East.
This was conveyed by Prabowo during the inauguration of the Marsinah Labour Hero Museum and Rest House in Nganjuk, East Java, on Saturday (16/5).
Prabowo said that the conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have caused many countries to panic because of their impact on the distribution of energy and raw materials for global fertiliser.
“Now it has been proven that many countries are having difficulties and are panicking because of the war in the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz is closed, 20 percent of the world’s fuel passes through the Strait of Hormuz,” said Prabowo.
According to him, this condition also affects global fertiliser production because urea-based fertiliser is highly dependent on oil and gas.
“This means that fertiliser is affected because a lot of fertiliser comes from oil and gas. Urea fertiliser is very much needed,” he said.
Prabowo admitted that he received a report from the Minister of Agriculture that several countries have begun requesting fertiliser supplies from Indonesia.
He even mentioned that Australia requested assistance in purchasing 500,000 tons of urea from Indonesia.
“Australia is asking for our help. We sell 500,000 tons of urea to Australia,” said Prabowo.
In addition to Australia, Prabowo said that several other countries have also begun requesting fertiliser supplies from Indonesia, ranging from the Philippines, India, Bangladesh to Brazil.
“The Philippines is asking us, India is asking us, Bangladesh is asking us, Brazil is asking us. My order is to help everyone,” he said.
Prabowo said that the government decided to help these countries and assessed that Indonesia’s position is now starting to change into a country that is able to provide assistance.
“We are not euphoric, we are not arrogant. But we are now on the side that can provide assistance,” he said.
In addition to fertiliser, Prabowo claims that many countries have begun to be interested in buying rice from Indonesia.
He believes that this condition is happening because the government has moved quickly to improve the agricultural sector and maintain national food self-sufficiency.
“Imagine if we were not self-sufficient, if we didn’t rush to fix the agricultural problem,” said Prabowo.
On that occasion, Prabowo also praised the performance of the Minister of Agriculture, who he considered had succeeded in strengthening the national food sector.
“Luckily we have a great Minister of Agriculture because he is indeed a farmer’s son,” he concluded.