Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who will retire in less than two weeks, kicked off Indonesia’s largest investment forum by revealing that his successor Prabowo Subianto was sparing no effort to prepare for his incoming leadership.

Jokowi -- who donned a blue Megamendung-motif batik shirt -- opened the 2024 BNI Investor Daily Summit that day. He immediately talked about the upcoming transition of presidential power as he opened the summit. 

Jokowi said Prabowo had been doing his best since being declared the election winner, including “never missing out on every government meeting regardless of the topic.” Prabowo also often met with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani to discuss the 2025 state budget draft to make sure that his upcoming policies can go as planned, according to the outgoing leader.

“I’m sure the government transition will go well if God is willing. Once inaugurated, the president and his ministerial cabinet should be able to immediately get back to work and deliver the programs without any break,” Jokowi said at the 2024 BNI Investor Daily Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center.

“[When I first got elected] in 2014, I needed between 1 and 1.5 years to consolidate everything. That means we lost around 1.5 years back then. … A smooth government transition is pivotal to maintain our optimism, including maintaining both the political and economic stability,” Jokowi said.

Prabowo’s inauguration means an end to Jokowi’s decade-long leadership. Jokowi first took his oath of office in 2014 and got re-elected for a second term in 2019. Even so, Prabowo has promised continuity of Jokowi’s policies, while introducing his flagship campaign promise of feeding Indonesian students free school meals. Jokowi’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka is also Prabowo Subianto’s vice president-elect.