President Prabowo: Global Crisis Accelerates Indonesia’s Moves toward Food, Energy Self-Sufficiency

President Prabowo gives introductory remarks in the Plenary Cabinet Meeting held at the State Palace, Jakarta, on Friday (03/13).

President Prabowo Subianto stated that the global crisis has actually accelerated the national transformation agenda, particularly in efforts to achieve food and energy self-sufficiency. The President made this statement in his introductory remarks at the Plenary Cabinet Session held at the State Palace in Jakarta on Friday (03/13).

President Prabowo expressed belief that the current global situation is forcing the Government to accelerate strategic steps that have long been planned. He emphasized that the various challenges that have emerged are actually a momentum to accelerate national transformation.

“In my opinion, the crisis has actually accelerated our transformation plans. Ultimately, we are being forced to accelerate. We already understand the problem, we have always strived for food and energy self-sufficiency. We have been moving towards that. But now we are going to accelerate it,” the President said.

The Head of State explained that the Government has long recognized the importance of switching to renewable energy and optimization of domestic energy sources. According to the President, the current condition urges the acceleration and intensification of those efforts.

“We already know that we must switch to renewable energy, to our own energy sources. We understand that. This accelerates things. So, it forces us to work harder,” the President said.

Furthermore, President Prabowo stated that Indonesia possesses various sources that can be utilized as alternative energy sources, including biofuels derived from agricultural commodities. He also noted that Indonesia has significant potential for developing other renewable energy, such as geothermal energy and hydropower.

“We produce palm oil, which we can convert into diesel and ethanol. We can use sugar cane, cassava, and corn. We have it all. We have abundant geothermal energy. We can use hydropower, mini-hydropower, there’s so much more,” the President added.

In the plan, the Government aims to develop up to 100 gigawatts of solar power capacity within the next two years. The President stated that the project requires land around 100,000 hectares, and some of its potential has already been identified.

“We will carry out very rapid development of solar power, we plan to develop 100 gigawatts, which we are aiming to complete within the next two years. One hundred gigawatts is 100,000 megawatts. This means we need approximately 100,000 hectares of land,” the President said.

In addition to renewable energy development, the President also announced the discovery of several new gas sources, which strengthen the prospects for national energy security. He also expressed confidence that Indonesia possesses sufficient resources to address various energy challenges in the near future.

“We have also discovered a large gas field in the Andaman Islands, which Mubadala will soon develop. We will also soon open the Masela field, another very large gas field,” said the President.

With its wealth of natural resources, President Prabowo is optimistic that Indonesia is capable of facing various global challenges while strengthening the foundations of national independence in the food and energy sectors. (BPMIof Presidential Secretariat) (AW/TM)