The award event’s jury recognized Nicke, who is included in the World’s Most Powerful Women 2022 by Forbes magazine, for inspiring efforts to achieve Indonesian national self-reliance. This recognition stems from her "Bring the Barrel Home" initiative, which involves bringing oil and gas produced abroad to be processed in Pertamina's refineries in order to realize Indonesian energy sovereignty. Under her leadership, Pertamina also achieved a local content requirement (TKDN) of 60 percent in 2022.

The award ceremony was organized by Media Nawacita Indonesia, and it was presented by Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly on Friday in Jakarta.

The minister highlighted in his speech during the 2023 Anugrah Nawacita Awards that the event was a form of appreciation for national and local figures who have made significant contributions to the advancement of Indonesia's regions, as well as the Republic and its people.

“The [Anugrah] Nawacita Awards are a form of support for the enactment of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s Nawacita program. I hope the momentum [provided by the event] will carry on and potential leaders can continue to make their contributions to the country”, Yasonna stated.

Nicke expressed her gratitude upon receiving the award in the Economic Independence category. She also emphasized the importance of energy independence in achieving economic self-reliance, since it serves as a catalyst for a country's economic growth.

"What has been done [in achieving economic independence] so far has certainly obtained support from all sides, with myself playing the role as one of the leaders of state-owned enterprises [SOEs]. Although the achievements have been a source of pride, there are still many needed improvements to be pursued. My leadership of an SOE is [also] simply fulfilling a mandate. The most important thing [for Pertamina] is to deliver its services and become the ‘locomotive’ of the national economy, as well as developing MSMEs because they are Indonesia's strength," Nicke said.

Nicke noted that Pertamina has worked to strengthen MSMEs during times of energy crisis. Pertamina had actively supported MSMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed to Indonesia’s stable economic growth, which has attracted global admiration.

"Of course, the achievements do not belong solely to myself or Pertamina, but they instead belong to the entire Indonesian population because self-reliance must indeed be realized by all elements [of the country]. Hopefully, those accomplishments renew the spirit [for achieving economic independence], as the number of tasks ahead continues to rise daily. Hopefully, the award will inspire myself, the Pertamina team and the entire Indonesian people to work even harder toward achieving Indonesian national economic self-reliance," Nicke concluded.

Apart from Nicke, nine other national figures received 2023 Anugrah Nawacita Awards in various categories, which were: Gen. (ret) AM Hendropriyono in the Defense and Security category; Masjid Istiqlal grand imam Prof. Dr. K. H. Nasaruddin Umar in the Strengthening Indonesian Diversity category; Presidential Chief of Staff Gen. (ret) Moeldoko in the National Character Education category; Manokwari Mayor Hermus Indou in the Champion of Democracy category; Attorney General of Indonesia Sanitiar “ST” Burhanuddin in the Law Enforcement category; Rusdi Kirana in the Infrastructure, Industry and Transportation category; Lie Agustinus Dharmawan in the Welfare of the People category; Surabaya Mayor Ery Cahyadi in the Regional Development category; and Cinta Laura Kiehl in the Inspiration for Millennials category.

During the award ceremony night, 2023 Anugrah Nawacita Awards jury member Sarman Simanjorang mentioned that the selection for the Economic Independence category award needed a lengthy discussion due to the difficult challenge of appraising the 25 entrepreneurs nominated for it. However, they ultimately chose Nicke.

"We saw that her achievements, [such as] making an [Indonesian] SOE become one of the top 150 companies in the world, were extraordinary. Moreover, [Pertamina] also recorded its highest-ever profit in 2022, and its leader is one of the 100 most powerful women in the world," he said.

As a leading company in energy-transition efforts, Pertamina is committed to supporting the achievement of Indonesia’s net-zero emissions 2060 target. The SOE also continues to back programs which directly impact Indonesia’s achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). All those efforts align with the implementation of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) practices across Pertamina's business lines and operations.

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