Prabowo Invites US to Invest in Education and Healthcare
President Prabowo Subianto has invited American educational institutions to forge partnerships with Indonesia. Prabowo made the appeal during a business summit at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce building in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, 18 February 2026.
At the forum, Prabowo stressed the importance of education, revealing plans to build 10 new campuses and 500 high-quality schools in Indonesia. "We are inviting foreign educational institutions to come to Indonesia. We are opening up the education sector for cooperation," Prabowo said.
The head of state then spoke of his working visit to the United Kingdom in January 2026, during which he invited several leading universities to collaborate. Among them were the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, and King's College London. "They were very interested in coming to Indonesia. I am also inviting American institutions to work with us in Indonesia," Prabowo said.
Beyond education, Prabowo also called on American businesses to invest in healthcare, noting that Indonesia's number of doctors remains insufficient. He claimed Indonesia still faces a shortage of 140,000 doctors, whilst the country's universities can only graduate approximately 10,000 doctors per year.
"That means it would take 14 years to close that gap, unless there is a genuine new effort. That is why I am creating these 10 new universities, which will be based on STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — and medicine," Prabowo said.
The plan for educational cooperation with foreign institutions had previously been raised during Prabowo's visit to the United Kingdom in January 2026. At the UK–Indonesia Education Roundtable held at Lancaster House, London, on Tuesday 20 January 2026, Prabowo met with a number of British government officials and university leaders.
He expressed his wish for British universities to help establish campuses in Indonesia with international standards and English as the medium of instruction.
At the forum, Prabowo stressed the importance of education, revealing plans to build 10 new campuses and 500 high-quality schools in Indonesia. "We are inviting foreign educational institutions to come to Indonesia. We are opening up the education sector for cooperation," Prabowo said.
The head of state then spoke of his working visit to the United Kingdom in January 2026, during which he invited several leading universities to collaborate. Among them were the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, and King's College London. "They were very interested in coming to Indonesia. I am also inviting American institutions to work with us in Indonesia," Prabowo said.
Beyond education, Prabowo also called on American businesses to invest in healthcare, noting that Indonesia's number of doctors remains insufficient. He claimed Indonesia still faces a shortage of 140,000 doctors, whilst the country's universities can only graduate approximately 10,000 doctors per year.
"That means it would take 14 years to close that gap, unless there is a genuine new effort. That is why I am creating these 10 new universities, which will be based on STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — and medicine," Prabowo said.
The plan for educational cooperation with foreign institutions had previously been raised during Prabowo's visit to the United Kingdom in January 2026. At the UK–Indonesia Education Roundtable held at Lancaster House, London, on Tuesday 20 January 2026, Prabowo met with a number of British government officials and university leaders.
He expressed his wish for British universities to help establish campuses in Indonesia with international standards and English as the medium of instruction.