Prabowo Recalls Emotional Moment Involving Leader of Small Nation

President Prabowo Subianto continues to uphold the ‘free and active’ principle established by the nation’s founding fathers to navigate Indonesia’s foreign policy. “Therefore, brothers and sisters, Indonesia is free and active; a thousand friends are too few, and one opponent is too many; we respect everyone,” Prabowo stated in East Java, as reported on Monday (18/5/2026).

Through this foreign policy principle, he noted that many countries continue to hold Indonesia in high regard. He even mentioned that some world leaders have been moved to tears during visits to the country due to the profound respect shown by Indonesia.

He cited an instance involving the Prime Minister of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka, during an official state visit to Indonesia on 24 April 2025. “In front of the journalists, he shed tears, saying, ‘Your Excellency, during my time as Prime Minister of Fiji, I have never received such a reception. I am very moved because my country is very small, with only 1 million people, yet we are treated the same as a large nation,’” Prabowo recounted.

He remarked that the teaching of respect and mutual respect was not only established by the nation’s founding fathers but has been passed down through generations of Indonesian society since childhood. “That is why, upon becoming President, I have declared that Indonesia’s foreign policy is free and active, non-aligned, and that Indonesia wishes to be a good neighbour; we want to be the good neighbours and all policy is the good neighbours policy,” he explained.