Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto’s multi-billion dollar school-feeding program has become part of Indonesia’s diplomacy.

In other words, Indonesia will likely try to strike some international partnerships to make sure that its plan of feeding tens of millions of children every school day goes well. 

On Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Sugiono briefed press members and ambassadors about Indonesia's foreign diplomacy outlook for the year to come under Prabowo, who had only risen to power less than three months ago. 

Sugiono’s speech, which was almost an hour long, touched on the government’s intention to invest in its human capital through Prabowo’s signature free nutritious meal program. According to the minister, it is impossible for a weak nation to be a global leader, hence Indonesia’s decision to develop its human capital.

“Self-sufficiency and the strengthening of national resources are main priorities of the Prabowo-Gibran government. This includes the free nutritious meal program, which aims at enhancing the quality of, and investing in the Indonesian people,” Sugiono said in Jakarta.

Sugiono told the forum that a country could only gain international respect if its people are prosperous and intelligent. He added: “Indonesia’s diplomacy will be directed to support the government’s programs in strengthening and investing in human capital.”

The government launched the free meal plan early this week, and is planning to gradually increase its reach in phases. The program fed approximately 570,000 kids on the first day. It aims to make sure that the nutrient-dense meals reach 15 million individuals, including expectant mothers, by the end of 2025. By 2029, it is expected to feed 82.9 million people.

Indonesia was not the first one to distribute government-aided meals to students. India is on the lead with its PM Poshan scheme which makes sure 120 million students are learning on a full stomach every school day. During his Rio de Janeiro trip for the G20 Summit, Prabowo revealed he planned on sending a team to Brazil to look at how the meal gets distributed firsthand. Brazil, too, has a similar school meal program that reaches 40 million people.

As expected, Indonesia’s entry to BRICS became a major theme in Sugiono’s annual press statement. When visiting Kazan for the BRICS summit a few months ago, Sugiono met with Dilma Roussef, the president of the alliance’s lender New Development Bank (NDB). 

A ministerial press statement revealed at the time that Sugiono brought up Prabowo’s mid-day meal during the conversation. It is unclear whether the Indonesian government will look for international financing as well to fund the program. However, Indonesia has set aside Rp 71 trillion or about $4.4 billion in state budget to run the free meal program this year. Even so, Indonesia’s seat in BRICS has opened up the doors for Jakarta to access additional funding if needed.

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