Teguh Santosa: Food Sovereignty is Closely Related to the Good Neighbor Principle

JAKARTA – The national press community is invited to pay attention to two key words of Prabowo Subianto’s government policy, namely “food sovereignty” and “good neighbor”.

These two things are seen as closely related to each other. Food sovereignty gives Indonesia the freedom to play an active free policy in the international arena.

This was conveyed by the General Chairperson of the Indonesian Cyber ​​Media Network (JMSI) Teguh Santosa in his remarks at an international seminar themed "Improving Indonesia-Korea Relationship in Prabowo Administration, from Food Sovereignty to Good Neighbor" held at the Press Council Hall, Jalan Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta, Tuesday, November 26, 2024.

The seminar organized by JMSI together with KoreaKini.id was attended by a number of honored guests, including the Deputy for Maritime Affairs and Natural Resources of the Ministry of National Development Planning Vivi Yulaswati, Deputy Distribution of the Coordinating Ministry for Food, Deputy Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) Park Soo-Deok, Director General of America and Europe of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs who was once the Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea Umar Hadi, Director of East Asia of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Arifianto Sofianto, and Deputy Chairman of the Press Council Agung Dharmajaya.

The speakers at the international seminar were Hyungjun Noh from the South Korean Rural Development Administration, Head of the Public Relations Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture Moch. Arief Cahyono, George Mason University researcher Joshua Namtae Park, and researcher from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Andrew Mantong.

"On many occasions, President Prabowo has offered two important keywords for us to observe. First, food sovereignty. This is not just to ensure food availability, but also to ensure mastery of food technology and production, including encouraging and empowering community members to actively participate in securing the food chain inclusively," said Teguh.

He emphasized that food sovereignty can also be understood as a measured and massive policy in re-promoting the agricultural sector, strengthening farmer groups, and developing rural areas.

The second key message, continued Teguh, is the foreign policy guidelines for being a good neighbor, which promotes new approaches with a collaborative dimension in the midst of increasingly challenging international relations.

"In our opinion, these two things are closely related to each other. Food sovereignty allows Indonesia to practice free and active politics while being a good neighbor in the international arena," he said again.

Teguh considered it important to discuss the topic of food sovereignty and good neighbor by looking at the experience of South Korea, which is an old friend of Indonesia. Moreover, both countries have worked together in many areas within the framework of shared prosperity and world peace.

"We believe there are best practices that both countries can learn from to improve the quality of relations in the new era in Indonesia during the administration of President Prabowo Subianto," said Teguh.