President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto emphasized Indonesia’s transformation from a food-importing country into a food exporter as one manifestation of strengthened national capacity that can contribute to the global community.

President Prabowo made the statement while attending a session titled “Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth” at the 2026 BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, Republic of India, on Sunday, September 13, 2026.

Addressing BRICS leaders, President Prabowo said that for many years, Indonesia had been one of the major importers of several food commodities. The situation has now reversed as the country’s domestic production capacity has increased.

“For many years, Indonesia was the largest importer of grains, rice, and corn. Now, we have become an exporter and will be able to increase our support for the entire world,” President Prabowo said.

The transformation illustrates how limitations can be turned into capacity through national development and the strengthening of domestic capabilities. President Prabowo believes that BRICS countries have similar potential if their respective strengths can be connected and optimized collectively.

According to President Prabowo, various interconnected global challenges should not be viewed solely as obstacles. With strong cooperation, these challenges can be transformed into opportunities to increase investment, strengthen industries, create more jobs, and provide better opportunities for the people.

“Together, we can turn these interconnected challenges into opportunities for greater investment, stronger industries, and more jobs and better opportunities for our people. Growth that reaches millions of our people will make our nations more resilient,” the President said.

The Head of State emphasized that a country’s resilience is closely linked to the extent to which growth is felt by society at large. Therefore, inclusive development and innovation are two key elements in transforming collective strength into greater capacity.

“This can only be achieved when development is inclusive and, when combined with innovation, our collective strength can become a formidable force, transforming scarcity into capacity,” the President continued.

In the context of BRICS, President Prabowo said member countries already possess significant assets in the form of resources, production capacity, and complementary economic strengths. This potential can serve as a foundation for strengthening BRICS’ position in global value chains.

“BRICS is already a supply chain. Our task is to connect and optimize it so that these existing strengths can become a greater source of value for all of us,” the President said.

To realize this potential, President Prabowo proposed a concrete step to BRICS leaders: promoting joint industrialization. According to the President, the resources and capacities possessed by member countries need to be optimized through cooperation to generate greater added value.

“Therefore, allow me to offer something concrete. Let us pursue joint industrialization and let us optimize the resources and capacities that we have together,” President Prabowo emphasized.

(BPMI Setpres)