The ministry will continuously receive close attention from President Prabowo Subianto because of his interest in boosting Indonesia’s global role. Prabowo’s decision to pick Sugiono was probably based on his close interaction with the Foreign Ministry over the last five years. Prabowo needs a freshman who does not necessarily have enough experience in managing the ministry.

Unlike his predecessor Retno L.P. Marsudi, who enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy in day-to-day foreign policy activities from then-president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Sugiono will likely be “attached” to Prabowo, perhaps daily. This practice is reminiscent of the era of president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid in 1999-2001, when politician Alwi Shihab served as foreign minister.

President Prabowo will soon summon senior Foreign Ministry officials who are serving as Indonesian ambassadors for a briefing of his foreign policy outlook. Unlike the United States which, has traditionally replaced ambassadors following a change in administration, Indonesia’s governments usually keep foreign missions unchanged. In the case of Prabowo, he has projected a policy of continuity.

In his first 100 days in office, Sugiono is expected to revamp the ministry, including by ensuring the effective roles of his three deputies, to avoid overlap of assignments and responsibilities. They deputies Muhammad Anis Matta, chairman of the Gelora Party, Arrmanatha Christiawan Nasir, who now serves as Indonesian Permanent Representative to the UN and Arif Havas Oegroseno, Indonesia’s ambassador to Germany.

In addition to the secretariat-general and inspectorate general, the ministry has seven directorate generals dealing with Asia-Pacific and Africa; America and Europe; ASEAN; multilateral, information and public diplomacy; law and international agreement; protocol and consular affairs.

Another urgent task for Sugiono is to fill vacant ambassadorial posts, especially in Indonesia’s strategic partners such as the United States. In the last 10 years, the recruitment of ambassadors has often moved slowly because of the “pull and push” between the president and the House of Representatives.

Under the leadership of Sugiono, who is an outsider, the ministry can be expected to introduce more breakthroughs, including bureaucratic reforms. The Health Ministry has set a good example of reform for our diplomats.

When former banker Budi Gunadi Sadikin was appointed health minister in 2019, he was met with resistance from within. But he proved his mettle and helped the country survive the COVID-19 pandemic through various breakthroughs and innovation. Unsurprisingly, President Prabowo retains Budi as the health minister.

Sugiono, 45, who served as a lawmaker from Prabowo’s Gerindra Party until his appointment last week, is widely perceived as the “ideological son” of the President. As President Prabowo is expected to be personally active in foreign policymaking and implementation, the relationship between him and his chief diplomat will likely be characterized by a top-down affair. For one, Sugiono has a military background, just like Prabowo.

Sugiono has made his mark by attending the BRICS Plus Summit in Kazan, Russia, but his first real test in diplomacy will come next month. President Prabowo is scheduled to travel to Peru to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and to Brazil for the Group of 20 Summit in November.

From the media perspective, we hope Sugiono will emulate his predecessor Retno, who was accessible to the press. Sugiono will need to talk to the media frequently as he is not well-known to the public.

As the foreign minister, Sugiono will need to realize President Prabowo’s hope for Indonesia to play a much more active role in global affairs, which is why he has expanded the foreign service and appointed three deputies to support Sugiono.

We wish Foreign Minister Sugiono and his diplomatic corps good luck.