Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia during the Opening of the 49th Annual Convention and Exhibition of the Indonesian Petroleum Association (IPA) 2025, ICE BSD, Tangerang Regency, Banten Province on Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
Good morning,
Peace and prosperity be upon us all,
Shalom,
Salve,
Om swastiastu,
Namo Buddhaya,
Greetings of virtue.

Distinguished Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources as the organizer, Mr. Bahlil Lahadalia and the entire ranks of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources;
President of the Indonesian Petroleum Association, Ms. Carole J. Gall;
Special Advisor to the President for Energy, Prof. Purnomo Yusgiantoro. From what I understand, Mr. Purnomo was the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, and Mr. Bahlil has taken this position. I have known Mr. Purnomo since I was a child, and he is still going strong. We have to ask him what his secret is. That secret is expensive.

Honorable Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Prof. Pratikno, Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Prof. Rachmat Prambudy, Minister of Forestry Dr. Raja Juli Antoni, Minister of Manpower Prof. Yassierli, Minister of State Secretary Mr. Prasetyo Hadi, Cabinet Secretary Mr. Teddy Indra Wijaya, Head of Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) Mr. Joko Siswanto, Governor of Banten, Governor of Maluku Mr. Hendrik Lewerissa, Governor of Southeast Sulawesi Mr. Andi Sumangerukka;
Distinguished Ambassadors that attend the Ambassadors of Egypt, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Malaysia, and also I welcome CEO of Mubadala Energy Sheikh Mansoor Mohamed Al Hamed;
Leaders and members of the Indonesian Petroleum Association who are all attending;
Respected leaders and players in the oil and gas industry;
All invitees;
Members of the media.

First and foremost, of course, let us never stop expressing our praise and gratitude to Allah, the Most Glorious and the Most Powerful, for his blessings. We are still granted the strength and the health to gather at this very important forum, which is the 49th Annual Convention and Exhibition of the Indonesian Petroleum Association. Thank you for the great honor given to me to be able to attend and speak at this important forum.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to express my appreciation to the Indonesia Petroleum Association for its consistency in organizing events such as this, one of the largest oil and gas forums in Southeast Asia, with the participation of more than 60 countries. This event shows that Indonesia’s energy sector is still dynamic and appealing to the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Just last week, I had the honor of officiating at the Forel and Terubuk oil fields in the Natuna Islands. This was the first oil and gas lifting inauguration during my administration. This field generates an additional 20,000 barrels of oil per day and 60 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. A highly significant figure compared to the trend of the previous few years.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I was informed that this effort was done 100 percent by our own people. This is not just a mathematical or technical milestone, but a pivotal milestone in our ongoing efforts to achieve national energy self-sufficiency.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have always said that the sovereignty of a nation is determined by its ability to provide food for its people and, secondly, by its ability to meet its own energy needs. The survival of a nation, the survival of our nation, the survival of the nations, depends on these two aspects.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am thankful, I am proud, I would like to thank all the elements for getting us there in such a short period of time. It has only been a few months since we have been in charge of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia. We have just reached the six-month mark of our administration, but our food production has already exceeded our own targets and estimates. Our food reserves, the rice and corn reserves in government warehouses, I was informed, are the largest reserves of rice and corn since the founding of our country, since the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia. The rice and corn reserves in our government warehouses are the largest in the history of the Republic of Indonesia. Even a short while ago, we were worried that there would not be enough warehouses to accommodate the production. So, I ordered to build improvised warehouses.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
What we have achieved in the food sector turns out to be something that is not overly complicated. What matters is that we adopt common-sense policies that resolve difficulties, solve problems, and are oriented towards the interests of the nation and the people of Indonesia. So long as we hold on to that, the results can be rapidly seen.

Similarly, our approach in the energy sector is also simple. We recognize that our energy potential is enormous. Earlier, I was informed that we are ready to offer dozens of oil and gas blocks on a large scale.

I call on all regulatory agencies to simplify regulations. I repeat, simplify regulations. There is a tendency, not only in Indonesia, but Indonesia is really good at making complicated regulations, even for us. We must reduce this. I will replace, remove, officials who do not want to simplify regulations. There are many young people eagerly waiting to be given a chance.I urge you to change the culture of ‘if you can make it difficult, why make it easy’. Change that way of thinking. We must no longer allow such thinking in our beloved Republic, Ladies and Gentlemen. Government officials, regulators are meant to serve the people, to support, to help all those who wish to work in Indonesia. We need speedy results for our people. The world is changing, the slow ones, the lazy ones, the ones with absurd ideas must be pushed aside and we will push them aside. We will cut out those who do not work well. Simplify all processes. Create the best possible climate for all those who want to contribute, whether from abroad or from within the country.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We understand that our potential is immense, our renewable energy potential is incredible. Our geothermal potential is tremendous. Our hydropower potential is huge. Energy from wind, energy from waves turns out to be very large. I just spoke to some experts from the best universities abroad yesterday, they told me that in our seas there are massive energy sources, and the technology is now available. We are very, very confident that soon we will not only be self-sufficient in energy, we will once again supply energy to the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Therefore, today, I would like to thank you for this honor and I encourage all parties from both domestic and abroad to take advantage of the opportunities that we are offering and we are also preparing a substantial investment fund, Danantara Indonesia, which is also ready to make strategic investments in the existing energy projects. Together with our partners abroad, we will push for our needs. I welcome the commitment of the oil and gas industry in Indonesia to support the energy transition through various initiatives including Carbon Capture and Storage and other innovations.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let us work together, a collaboration among the domestic private sector, the foreign private sector, state-owned enterprises, the government at all levels. Let’s unite our efforts to achieve the goals we set out to achieve. If we rely on imports, we are spending almost US$40 billion of our resources every year, which could and should be redirected to support our people in strategic sectors such as education and health, to reduce and eliminate poverty. This is the potential we can harness. I believe with cooperation, collaboration, and what I said earlier, common-sense policies, we will achieve our goals.

I thank you for your attention, Ladies and Gentlemen. Now, I have the honor to officially open the 49th Annual Convention and Exhibition of the Indonesian Petroleum Association. Thank you.

Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. 
Peace and prosperity upon us,
Om shanti shanti shanti om,
Namo buddhaya, 
Greetings of virtue,
Rahayu rahayu.

Thank you. (FI/MMB)