WEF 2026: Prabowo pitches Indonesia as equal partner, opens top posts to global talent

“In addition to acquiring peace and stability, growth requires statecraft and capital, in particular the efficient allocation and reallocation of capital.

“That is why, last February, we established our sovereign wealth fund; Danantara Indonesia (Danantara)... Danantara is a sovereign wealth fund with USD 1 trillion in assets under management. With Danantara, I can stand here in front of you as an equal partner,” he said.

Prabowo said Indonesia is opening its talent market to global professionals to lead government-linked companies managed by Danantara which currently includes 1,044 organizations currently.

“We are going to bring this (numbers of organizations) down to around, at most, 300. We will rationalize, get rid of inefficiencies, and we want the best governance and management based on international standards.

“I have allowed Danantara to recruit expatriates and foreign citizens to be able to lead these companies. We want the best brains and minds in the world,” he added. In a roughly 40-minute address, Prabowo outlined efforts to lift the self-sufficiency rate for food staples including rice, corn, sugar and protein, and to strip out bureaucracy and rules that hamper efficiency.

On the administration’s free meals program, he said Indonesia is targeting 82.9 million meals per day this year.

“Today, in one year, we have achieved 21,102 kitchens serving nationwide. As of last night, we are producing 59.8 million meals for 59.8 million children, mothers, and the elderly.

“They receive these meals every day. To put this into context, in about a month’s time, we will surpass McDonald’s, which serves 68 million meals a day... This year we aim to serve 82.9 million meals a day,” he said.

That claim comes amid scrutiny following a Reuters report in September that nearly 6,000 people suffered food poisoning since the program’s launch due to weaknesses in monitoring mechanisms.

Furthermore, Prabowo stressed his administration’s anti-corruption stance and commitment to the rule of law.

“We are determined to fight corruption. It is challenging. Not many believe we can do it. But we have no choice. I have no choice,” he said.

“In my first week in government, we uncovered massive abuse in fuel and crude oil governance. In all sectors of the economy, we found illegalities.”

He said that within the past year, authorities seized 4 million hectares of illegal plantations and mines. Additionally, a cabinet meeting he chaired from London on Tuesday agreed to revoke the licenses of 28 companies operating on 1.01 million hectares in protected areas.

“I do not call this free enterprise or a free market. I called it openly ‘greedynomics’, or an economy of greed,” he added.

Taken together, the measures signal Indonesia’s intent to open markets and expand opportunities for international players, particularly in new-economy sectors, while underscoring a domestic environment that the president framed as transparent, competitive and business-friendly.

WEF 2026 runs through January 23 under the theme “The Spirit of Dialogue.”

Attendees include U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.