Prabowo's Frequent Overseas Trips: Teddy Says We Must Reap the Benefits of Good Relations
Cabinet Secretary Lieutenant Colonel TNI Teddy Indra Wijaya has responded to criticisms suggesting that President Prabowo Subianto’s overseas visits are spontaneous and lack clear planning. These criticisms were previously raised by former Deputy Foreign Minister Dino Patti Djalal.
According to Teddy, while some of the President’s international agendas are prepared up to a year in advance, there are also urgent visits that must be adjusted according to domestic and global developments. “Global developments are very dynamic, day by day. Therefore, there are annual schedules and urgent schedules based on the domestic and international needs of a country,” Teddy stated in a video statement on Monday, 1 June 2026.
In a clarification video lasting 6 minutes and 44 seconds, Teddy also dismissed allegations that President Prabowo’s various overseas trips are merely attempts to appear prestigious on the international stage. For Teddy, Prabowo’s state visits are a form of active diplomacy that yields various concrete results. Furthermore, Teddy believes that Prabowo’s overseas visits aim to build emotional closeness with various world leaders directly.
“President Prabowo is a new president taking office while the world is in crisis. Previously, there were conflicts in Ukraine and Venezuela, and now there are tensions in Iran and the Middle East, involving Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and others,” said the former assistant aide to the 7th President, Joko Widodo.
Teddy asserted that every head of state should establish close relationships with other world leaders. “We cannot rely solely on asking for help only when a crisis occurs. No, we must reap the benefits of good relations,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dino Patti Djalent, founder of the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), had previously highlighted the frequency of President Prabowo Subianto’s international travel. Dino noted that during his presidency, Prabowo has spent one out of every six days abroad. He remarked that some might find the frequency of these official overseas trips unusual and predicted that President Prabowo would continue to conduct international visits at a similarly high frequency over the next 18 months.
Furthermore, Dino observed that several presidential visits appeared to be spontaneous, without clear planning or objectives. According to Dino, Prabowo’s international visit plans should largely be mapped out a year in advance. “Both Cabinet Secretary Teddy or Foreign Minister Sugiono need to announce the President’s visit plans to a country one month in advance, or at least one week before the date, and announce it alongside the country being visited,” Dino stated via an Instagram video post.
Dino noted that visits to Pakistan and Russia, for instance, occurred during the Sumatra floods without any prior information being provided to the public. He argued that the Palace needs to implement principles of accountability and transparency, as the public is often unaware of the President’s whereabouts while abroad.