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Indonesia’s Prabowo touts economic wins in defiant first state of the nation address
The Indonesian president has also vowed to continue the ‘difficult and unpopular’ task of cracking down on corruption
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Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has used his first state of the nation address to spotlight the country’s economic resilience and independent foreign policy, striking a defiant tone against colonial legacies and geopolitical rivalry while positioning himself as a reformer at home.
In a wide-ranging speech before the People’s Consultative Assembly on Friday, the 73-year-old leader – inaugurated last October – pointed to second-quarter growth of 5.12 per cent as a sign of the economy’s robustness despite “global political tension and trade war”.
Prabowo also emphasised his government’s approach to diplomacy, praising Indonesia’s growing ties with both developing and Western powers.
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“Indonesia was the guest of honour at the independence celebrations of India and France,” he said. “We completed the EU [Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement] trade negotiations, and [a trade deal] with the United States.”
In July, Indonesia and the European Union announced they had reached a political agreement on a long-delayed free-trade pact, nearly a decade in the making. The same month, Prabowo secured a deal with US President Donald Trump that slashed tariffs on Indonesian imports to 19 per cent, down from the 32 per cent Washington had threatened in April.
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