Press Statement of President of the Republic of Indonesia after Watching F1 Powerboat (F1H2O) World Championship 2023 at Lake Toba, North Sumatra Province, February 26, 2023

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)
I talk based on facts. This is a very interesting event; this is also my first time seeing the F1 Powerboat. We hope in the future such international events can build brand of the host region: F1 Powerboat at Lake Toba, MotoGP in Mandalika, Formula E in Jakarta, Superbike in Mandalika. This will trigger economic growth in the region. It is very good.

Press
Sir, Indonesia has huge potential for sports tourism. Are there, for example, events that will be held in other super priority destinations besides at Lake Toba?

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)
We are embarking on all possibilities since that kind of events will bring strong brands like F1 Powerboat. This is no easy task. We also want to attract Formula 1 to enter Indonesia maybe next year. We are in assessment process, preparing the team.

Press
Sir, is there any possibility that later there will be Indonesian racers or teams that will participate in that event?

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)
That is what we are aiming for, such as in MotoGP, we will prepare (the team). Similar to this, we will prepare team to join F1 Powerboat. But the point is, we can arrange big events at super priority destinations in our country.

Press
Sir, will the accommodation here also be prepared? There are some spectators who camp here because they could not find accommodation.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)
That’s what I mention earlier, that international events will spur economic growth. If it continues like this, later there will be more hotels, more restaurants, which in result will boost economic growth in super priority tourist areas.

Press
Do you have favorite racer from today’s event?

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)
I have, the female one, Stromoy. Apparently, she is also a famous singer, a musician in her country.

Press
With more and more tourists coming to Lake Toba, will the Government ensure that Lake Toba becomes a livelihood for the people around here?

Presiden Republik Indonesia (Joko Widodo)
We still have a lot to do to improve this area of Lake Toba. The infrastructure, the airport terminal, even for the F1 Powerboat, there are still many flaws that we must fix. I thought everything takes time, everything takes a process, it couldn’t be done right away. For example, the road is not wide enough, the airport parking lot is not spacious enough. Only during big event like this can we find out which facility we still lack of so that we can make improvement. Everything takes a process.

(EST/MUR)