In Washington, Prabowo Talks MBG to Danantara, Emphasizes Open War Against Corruption

President Prabowo Subianto attended a US Chamber of Commerce business forum in Washington D.C., United States (US), Wednesday (18/2/2026) afternoon local time. (ANTARA/HO-President's Media Team)

JAKARTA - President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto explained a number of priority programs of the Indonesian government, ranging from Free Nutritious Meals (MBG), the establishment of the Inter-Agency Investment Management Agency, to the commitment to eradicate corruption, in a US Chamber of Commerce business forum in Washington D.C., United States, Wednesday, February 18.

In front of American businessmen, Prabowo emphasized that his government is focused on bringing real benefits to the people, while creating a stable and reliable investment climate.

"I am running the MBG Program which I basically learned from the American and European experiences. I understand that this is a real part of the democratization process. Real democracy must be able to feel the benefits directly by the community through education and health services," said Prabowo, quoted from Antara, Thursday, February 19.

Prabowo explained that the Free Nutritious Meal program not only has an impact on children's nutritional needs, but also encourages economic growth at the grassroots level. Currently, as many as 23,000 MBG kitchens are operating in various villages in Indonesia.

Each kitchen employs around 50 people, mainly housewives who previously had no income. In addition, the program creates a multiplier effect in the agricultural and livestock sectors because each kitchen requires supplies of eggs, chickens, vegetables, and other food ingredients from local farmers and livestock farmers.

During the forum, Prabowo also introduced the establishment of the Indonesia sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, as part of a major strategy for the downstreaming of national industries.

"We have just formed a new sovereign wealth fund called Danantara. All state assets have been consolidated into this investment management body to encourage industrial downstreaming," he said.

Prabowo openly acknowledged that Indonesia still faces serious challenges in governance, including corruption practices and illegal economic activities. However, he reiterated his commitment to directly address these issues.

"We have problems with governance, corruption, and institutional weaknesses. A lot of smuggling is happening. There are many illegal economic activities such as illegal mining, illegal fishing, and illegal plantations in protected forests. This is a long-standing problem, but I choose to face it directly," said Prabowo.