Prabowo's Language Diplomacy

We now want this relationship to improve, there’s still much we need to learn. And, given the importance of this relationship, I have decided that Portuguese will be a priority language in our education system, because we want the relationship to improve,”

“Aside from English, Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, French, German, and Russian, Portuguese and Spanish are priority languages for us. I think that’s from me. Thank you, President Lula.”

This was stated by President Prabowo Subianto during the closing press conference with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at Merdeka Palace on 23 October 2025.

During his fourth visit to France since becoming President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto made a similar statement that Indonesian schools must learn French.

“I have instructed that all levels of Indonesian schools must learn French, given future global developments,” Prabowo Subianto stated during a press conference with French President Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron at the Élysée Palace on 28 May 2026.

However, from an international relations perspective, both statements can be interpreted as a form of ‘language diplomacy’ rarely used by previous Indonesian leaders.

Following President Prabowo Subianto’s two statements, the Indonesian public responded with varied reactions, both supportive and critical.

According to one definition in the Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), diplomacy also refers to the skill of using appropriate word choices to gain specific advantages in negotiations, answering questions, expressing opinions, and so on.

It is in this sense of diplomacy that the President has applied it in press conferences with other nations’ leaders.

“The ‘promise’ of teaching foreign languages in Indonesian schools is a ‘word choice’ that will harmonise relations between two nations and peoples.”

Although the promise is not easily fulfilled, Indonesia has already implemented it at the senior high school level.

At Senior High Schools (SMA), several foreign languages besides English have long been taught, particularly French, German, Japanese, and Mandarin.

Therefore, President Prabowo Subianto’s statements are not mere promises but have already been implemented in Indonesia, albeit not universally across all schools, depending on teacher availability and infrastructure.

The relevant minister has also responded to the President’s ‘language diplomacy’.