The Jakarta Post
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsStrength begins at home
As fires rage and geopolitical tests loom, Indonesians are waiting for the President to make good on his word: that real strength begins at home.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Set as preferred source
President Prabowo Subianto arrives at the New Delhi venue hosting the 18th BRICS Summit on Sept. 12, 2026, in this photo provided by Russia’s state news agency Sputnik. (AFP/pool/Alexander Kazakov) (AFP/Pool/Alexander Kazakov)
S
peaking at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, President Prabowo Subianto addressed criticism over his frequent overseas trips by reassuring the nation of a fundamental truth: Indonesia’s standing on the world stage is determined not by miles flown but by the bedrock of its domestic economic, political and security strength.
"Strength always begins at home with our people: with our ability to feed our people, to secure the energy they need, to educate our children and to give them the opportunity to prosper," Prabowo said.
He also made a point in calling for BRICS leaders to forge tangible cooperation on food, energy and education; areas critical to a bloc representing half of humanity and a commanding share of global output.
Yet public goodwill comes with a caveat: Indonesians expect real dividends, and they expect them soon.
While BRICS does not produce binding declarations and many of its members, Indonesia included, maintain diverse multilateral ties, the forum offers Jakarta a vital lever. It is a stage to advance national priorities and prove that the republic is far more than a lucrative consumer market for foreign powers.
The same calculus applies to every multilateral body the country joins. In the end, the only metric that matters is whether these memberships deliver material economic gains. In an era of fractured global order where nations ruthlessly prioritize their own security and economic interests, Indonesia must act with far greater resolve and strategic discipline.
Just five days after returning from New Delhi, the President announced he would skip next week’s United Nations General Assembly, an arena he addressed last year, dispatching Foreign Minister Sugiono in his stead. The move was a welcome signal that the administration is responsive to domestic sentiment.
