Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto continues to receive international backing for his ambitious free nutritious meal program, and this time, the support is coming from the United Kingdom.

Prabowo managed to secure British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s support for his grand plan of feeding Indonesian students free nutritious lunches starting in January. Prabowo visited Starmer at 10 Downing Street in London on Thursday local time for talks on various topics including the school meal program. According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, Starmer told Prabowo that his government was open to working with Indonesia to make sure that children do not go to school hungry. 

“We recognized the importance of proper nutrition in nurturing young minds and supporting their education. In this regard, President [Prabowo] outlined Indonesia’s national program to provide nutritious and healthy meals for schoolchildren and expectant mothers with a view to attaining the Golden Indonesia 2045 Vision,” the joint statement reads.

“To this end, we looked forward to possible cooperation, including through [the] sharing of best practices and lessons learned in this area.”

The statement did not go into more details on the possible partnership, although the UK has had experience of providing free meals to students. In England, students are eligible to get free meals if their parents are on the so-called universal credit -- namely the government’s social security program -- and have an annual net earned income of less than £7,400 (around $9,315).

The free meal program, which would cost the country Rp 71 trillion ($4.5 billion) in its first year, was at the center of Prabowo’s presidential campaign in the February election. Prabowo said that the program could unlock better nutritional status among children -- something that would be pivotal to the country’s goal of becoming an advanced economy by its centenary in 2045.

Prior to landing in London, Prabowo made several stops in China, the US, Peru, and most recently, Brazil. Prabowo often would take the opportunity to garner international backing for his campaign promise. According to media reports, China reportedly had agreed to fund Prabowo’s school-feeding initiative, making it one of the key outcomes of Prabowo’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

US President Joe Biden also expressed Washington’s support for the program. Not long after, the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC) launched a training program dedicated to Indonesian small farmers aimed at enhancing their milk production and quality. Milk is expected to be on the menu in the lunches provided to the kids.

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