Prabowo warns of threats from food, energy, and water crises
Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto has warned of global crisis threats encompassing food, energy, and water as fundamental issues that every country must anticipate.
According to Prabowo, these three sectors have long been considered by him as determinants of national security and have been projected by the United Nations through its sustainable development goals agenda as potential crises that will engulf the world.
“I have long believed and disseminated the key points that I am convinced are the list of national security essentials, and this has been affirmed by the UN in the sustainable development goals, where several years ago the UN had already forecasted that the world crisis, the crisis that will strike the entire world, consists of three things: the food crisis, the energy crisis, and the water crisis,” said Prabowo during a briefing at the working meeting of the government members of the Red and White Cabinet at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The President conveyed that this perspective has been advocated and incorporated into various thoughts over decades, including in his books that emphasise the importance of resilience in the food, energy, and water sectors.
Regarding the domestic situation, Prabowo stated that Indonesia relatively does not face fundamental issues with water availability.
Indonesia is instead assessed by Prabowo as having an excess of water, although in some regions, particularly in eastern areas, there are still difficulties.
“In certain parts of our country, in eastern Indonesia, certain islands still have water difficulties, but we can overcome them because the water is there; it’s just a matter of whether we are able to obtain it and maintain it, because sometimes we ourselves fail to preserve our environment,” said Prabowo.
“Our forests are cleared, trees on our mountains are felled, resulting in water not being retained, leading to droughts, but these things can be addressed. There are countries rich in oil and gas that do not have water,” added Prabowo.
President Prabowo gathered the ranks of the Red and White Cabinet, from ministers and deputy ministers to officials at the echelon I level of ministries/institutions, at the Presidential Palace of the Republic of Indonesia in Jakarta on Wednesday, to deliver the briefing directly.
Head of the Indonesian Government Communication Agency Angga Raka Prabowo stated that the President wants to convey directions directly to all ranks of officials to ensure a common understanding in the implementation of government policies.
“The President feels it is important to convey this directly to all echelon I personnel, because we are all a unified entity. In a ministry, there is a minister supported by echelon I officials and their subordinates,” he said.
He added that the President is likely to discuss strategic matters related to government policies and state administration, including recent developments in the current situation.