June 2, 2026 | 12:03 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Cabinet Secretary, Teddy Indra Wijaya, claims that the frequent foreign visits made by President Prabowo Subianto are not in vain. According to Teddy, during Prabowo's one and a half year term, foreign investments amounting to Rp 2,430 trillion have entered Indonesia.According to Teddy, these investments are the result of President Prabowo's visits abroad during his term. "The total investment that entered within this 1.5 years is approximately Rp 2,430 trillion, according to the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) data," he said in a video statement on Monday, June 1, 2026.Teddy exemplifies that when the President visited Japan and Korea at the end of March 2026, there were investments that came in after those visits. "Another concrete example, last month President Prabowo visited Japan and Korea, and there were immediate investments of around Rp 575 trillion," said the lieutenant colonel.He refutes the narrative that suggests Prabowo's foreign visits are merely for show or ceremonial purposes. Teddy stated that Prabowo is building good relations with world leaders amid the global crisis.Teddy provided this clarification in response to criticisms from the founder of the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), Dino Patti Djalal. Dino previously made five suggestions to President Prabowo, critiquing him for frequent foreign travels.In an Instagram video post @dinopattidjalal, Dino mentioned that many Indonesians are requesting President Prabowo to significantly reduce the frequency of his foreign travels and not trivialize the public's outcry."Based on our calculation, among all world leaders, President Prabowo has become the most frequent head of state to travel abroad," said Dino.This former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs pointed out that the cost of a single presidential trip abroad can reach tens to hundreds of billion Rupiah. This includes expenses for the preceding delegation, aircraft, hotels, logistics, consumption, protocol and security, daily allowances for all delegates and accompanying personnel, as well as various other expenses."A head of state's visit abroad incurs substantial costs, even very large costs," said the former ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the United States.Eka Yudha Saputra contributed to the writing of this article.Read: Prabowo's Overseas Visits Are Not Just for Show, Says TeddyClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
