Prabowo: I Travel to Protect My People
President Prabowo Subianto has emphasised that his various overseas visits are oriented towards the national economic interest. This statement also addresses public perceptions that view the president’s official trips as often ceremonial or merely “sightseeing”.
This explanation was delivered by Prabowo at a roundtable discussion forum with several journalists and experts in Hambalang on Tuesday, 17 March 2026. In the forum, he stressed that Indonesia’s position as part of various international organisations demands an active presence on the global stage, both to maintain political relations and to strengthen economic cooperation.
Indonesia is currently involved in several strategic forums such as ASEAN, G20, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). This membership is not merely a symbol of diplomacy, but opens access to markets, investments, and cross-border cooperation that directly impacts the economy.
According to Prabowo, Indonesia must have a unique position and must nurture good relations with other countries. “If invited, we don’t come, it’s not good. That’s why every Indonesian president gets tired,” said Prabowo, quoted from an interview video shared by the Presidential Secretariat on Sunday, 22 March 2026.
He then added, “People think I like travelling there. And I also travel to protect my people.”
According to Prabowo, modern diplomacy is no longer limited to political relations alone, but has shifted to become an instrument of geo-economics through trade. In this context, the direct presence of a head of state often becomes a key factor in opening or accelerating trade and investment agreements.
Prabowo claimed that every meeting he has with other heads of state is related to efforts to maintain and create jobs domestically. According to him, access to export markets, incoming foreign investment, and industrial cooperation have a direct correlation with national workforce absorption.
His aides in the Red and White Cabinet, said Prabowo, are indeed tasked with handling the technical aspects of various such cooperations. However, in practice, several strategic agreements can only be achieved when there is direct communication between state leaders. “Sometimes, when we negotiate, ‘for these goods, you have to report to our number one (leader)’. They always say that. There are important things that must be agreed directly,” said Prabowo.
This Chairman of the Gerindra Party emphasised that Indonesia must have a strong bargaining position in every relationship with other countries. Therefore, diplomacy today is directed to become an instrument of geo-economics. “So if your relations are not good, you get all sorts of pressures,” said Prabowo.