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View all search resultsPut country first
At a time when global leaders are shifting their priorities toward securing national interests amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, our President is fluttering from country to country drumming up cooperation deals instead of heeding his people's calls to come home and attend to domestic matters first.
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President Prabowo Subianto prepares to disembark the presidential aircraft Indonesia One on April 13, 2026, after arriving in Paris. (Courtesy of Presidential Secretariat /Muchlis Jr)
D
espite President Prabowo Subianto’s repeated assurances that his frequent overseas trips have brought major contributions to serve the national interests, the people’s skepticism remains high. This sentiment can be easily found in public discourse on social media.
The President should listen to the people’s aspirations more attentively, including their wish that he focus more on the country’s pressing economic issues, especially those that cannot be resolved by merely enhancing bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Indonesia should indeed have good relations with all countries, particularly states with strategic global roles.
More importantly, it is about putting our home in order first.
Prabowo has met the world’s top leaders such as Chinese President Xi Jinping, United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. And though he did try to lure them with lucrative cooperation and concession agreements, the bigger question is what does Indonesia stand to gain from these sacrifices? So far, the public knows little about this side of the deals.
Speaking in private, Indonesian officials and foreign diplomats revealed that the President often made spontaneous decisions on foreign policy, whereas the normal practice is to announce a visit or plan after thorough preparation and communication among relevant parties.
For example, Prabowo announced his readiness to travel to Iran to serve as a mediator without the prior consent of his foreign counterparts in Tehran and Washington.
Since taking the office in October 2024, Prabowo has made 49 foreign visits to 35 countries, including for multilateral forums. Notably, however, he has visited only four neighboring states: Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
