Prabowo touts Indonesia’s economic growth and investment gains in State of the Nation address

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto highlighted the country's robust economic growth and investment gains during his annual State of the Nation address on Friday. Touting Indonesia's strongest first-half economic growth in over a decade, Prabowo claimed the nation could reach a 6% growth rate by the end of the year, even amidst global uncertainties. He emphasized that this growth should translate into job creation and higher living standards, rather than being an end in itself.

In his televised speech before Parliament, Prabowo reported that Indonesia's GDP grew 5.61% in the first quarter and 5.45% in the first half of the year, marking the highest first-quarter and first-semester growth in the past 13 years. He stressed that economic expansion must benefit the average Indonesian, rather than just a select few. "For me, growth and investment are not the final goal. Our goal is the welfare of our people," Prabowo stated.

The president pointed to Indonesia's strong investment figures despite global economic uncertainty. Last year, realized investments reached 1,931 trillion rupiah ($108 billion), creating more than 2.7 million jobs. In the first half of this year, investments totaled 1,010 trillion rupiah ($56.7 billion), generating over 1.4 million additional jobs.

Prabowo highlighted several flagship programs, such as the Free Nutritious Meals program, social assistance schemes, and policies to increase domestic processing of natural resources, which he said were already benefiting the people.