Prabowo Calls Sri Mulyani And A Number Of Ministers To The Palace, Discusses Red And White Village Cooperatives

Archives. Workers paint the walls of the State Palace building, Jakarta, Wednesday 7 August 2019. (ANTARA-Wahyu P)

President Prabowo Subianto summoned a number of relevant ministers to discuss the establishment of the Red and White Village Cooperative through a limited meeting (ratas) agenda at the Presidential Palace complex, Jakarta, Thursday, May 8.

Since 14.00 WIB, it appears that it is present at the Presidential Palace complex, Jakarta, including the Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration Yandri Susanto, Minister of SOEs Erick Thohir, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, and Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan, Minister of Cooperatives Budi Arie, to Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.

"Today the agenda is the Red and White Cooperative. We are synergizing how to ensure that the President's program on the economy from the village can continue to grow," said Erick Thohir, quoted by Antara.

According to Erick, the Merah Putih Cooperative program targeting all villages in Indonesia is the government's strategy in maintaining the economic balance of the city community and rural areas.

Erick said that village cooperatives are expected to be the backbone that supports the community's independence from its role as a food barn sector.

"If we look at our demographics between the residents of the city and the village, now they have started to balance. Do not let the economy in the village continue to decline and in cities it will increase because there are many industrial services," he said.

Meanwhile, Yandri Susanti said that the Ministry of Villages PDT had issued a circular to hold a special deliberation review the formation of the Red and White Village Cooperative, which concerns the discussion of source funds to management.

According to Budi Arie, the Red and White cooperative movement is a momentum for the people's economic revival sourced from the constitution. With the spirit of mutual cooperation, cooperatives are believed to be able to be a solution to eradicating extreme poverty in Indonesia, which is currently still touching the figure of 3.1 million people.

The Red and White Village Cooperative was initiated through Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 9 of 2025 concerning the Acceleration of the Establishment of the Red and White Village Cooperative. This Presidential Instruction was signed by President Prabowo Subianto on March 27, 2025 and took effect on the same date.

This Presidential Instruction aims to accelerate the formation of 80,000 Village/Kelurahan Merah Putih Cooperatives throughout Indonesia. The Red and White Village Cooperative is expected to become a center for village economic activities, provide access to healthier and fairer capital for rural communities, as well as encourage the nation's independence through sustainable food self-sufficiency.