Prabowo Salutes Jokowi, Receives Thumbs-Up at MPR Annual Session

President Prabowo Subianto and former President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) shared a warm moment during the MPR Annual Session and Joint Session of the DPR-DPD at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday (14/8/2026). After delivering his state address, Prabowo stepped down from the podium and approached Jokowi, offering a salute which was reciprocated with a handshake and a thumbs-up gesture from the former president. The two leaders were seen chatting briefly and laughing together.

Prabowo also greeted former Vice President Boediono, NasDem Party Chairman Surya Paloh, and other attending officials.

In his speech, Prabowo announced that the government would introduce foreign language instruction starting from the first grade of primary school. He stated that the languages to be taught would include those considered most important and widely used globally, such as English, Mandarin, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and French.

Prabowo also reiterated his commitment to continuing the Free Nutritious Meal programme (MBG), emphasising that he did not want Indonesian children to study while hungry. He noted that stunting still affects up to 25 per cent of children in some areas, meaning one in four Indonesian children suffers from the condition. Prabowo stressed that stunting prevents cells from developing properly, which has long-term negative effects on children’s futures, and pledged to continue the programme with improvements and greater efficiency.