President Prabowo Chairs Strategic Meetings in Hambalang to Discuss Education Issues and Geopolitics

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — President Prabowo Subianto chaired five limited meetings at his private residence Hambalang, in Bogor Regency, West Java, from Sunday afternoon through to night. The State Secretariat (Seskab) Teddy Indra Wijaya explained that the meetings covered priority programmes in the education sector, developments in the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, and preparations ahead of Eid al-Fitr in mid-March 2026. “On Sunday afternoon through to night, President Prabowo Subianto held five different meetings, summoning several ministers of the Red-White Cabinet at the Hambalang residence, Bogor, West Java, 8 March 2026. In several of the meetings, the President asked for updates on a number of strategic issues domestically and internationally,” Seskab Teddy said when reached in Jakarta on Sunday night. Seskab outlined five meeting agendas that drew the President’s attention: first, the progress of the construction of ten new campuses in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), and medical education. Second, reports on the development of several public universities (PTN) so that they can improve their global rankings and become more open to collaboration with leading universities worldwide. Third, President Prabowo also asked for the latest reports on the situation in the Middle East, linked to its potential influence on possible domestic geopolitical escalation. Fourth, President Prabowo also asked for a report on Palestinian students who are receiving scholarships to study at the University of Defence (Unhan). “Since becoming defence minister, since 2022, President Prabowo has invited 20–40 Palestinian children to study in Indonesia, and to now the number has reached almost 200 male and female students,” Seskab Teddy said. Fifth, President Prabowo asked for reports from the ministerial line on the government’s readiness to ensure security and smooth Eid exodus, especially for the ten days leading up to Eid al-Fitr. “In the meeting, attended also by the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Brian Yuliarto, Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Deputy Defence Minister Donny Ermawan Taufanto, Rector of the University of Defence Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Anton Nugroho, and PT Pindad President Director Sigit P. Santosa,” Seskab added. In several photos released by the Cabinet Secretariat, the Hambalang meeting today was also attended by the Head of the State Intelligence Agency M. Herindra, the Head of the Agency for Development Control and Special Investigations Aries Marsudiyanto, and the Head of the Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) of the TNI Lt. Gen. Yudi Abrimantyo, and the Head of Defence Ministry’s Defence Logistics Agency Maj. Gen. Yusuf Jauhari.