Jakarta – Foreign media The Straits Times released a list of 10 world leaders who will be influential in 2025, one of which is Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

‘From Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to Prabowo Subianto and Vladimir Putin, these influential figures will play a huge role in developments around the world,’ The Straits Times reported in an article titled “Meet the 10 World Leaders to Watch in 2025” released on 4 January 2025.

The article also highlighted how Prabowo wasted no time and moved quickly to take a role at the international level.

One of them is by making diplomatic visits to various countries, such as visits to China and the United States (US), as well as attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Peru in November 2024. 

All of these visits were made by Prabowo within a month after he was inaugurated as President of Indonesia on 20 October 2024. The Straits Times assessed that Prabowo’s foreign visits had economic motives rather than geopolitical or personal ones.

‘Central to his presidential vision is the goal of achieving a GDP of 8 per cent, up from the current 5 per cent,’ wrote the Singapore-based foreign media.

Achieving that vision, according to The Straits Times, depends on attracting investors, especially in infrastructure to improve connectivity and productivity across Indonesia.

At the international level, Prabowo encouraged Indonesia to be more assertive in multilateral groups. One of them is characterised by the government’s stance in expressing Indonesia’s desire to join BRICS.

Furthermore, the article also reveals how Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim sees an ‘ally’ in Prabowo. ‘Prabowo is expected to provide strong support for Malaysia’s achievements in ASEAN. Such support facilitates cross-border investment; supply chain connectivity and sustainable development; and is in line with what his government emphasises regarding ‘growth-oriented development’,’ wrote The Straits Times.

On the other hand, the same article also highlighted how Prabowo’s foreign policy approach that seeks to improve Indonesia’s relations with Russia and China has sparked debate as to whether such moves are in line with national strategic interests in a broader context.

‘Observers will closely monitor Prabowo’s moves to navigate the global balance and manage domestic criticism of his international decisions,’ writes The Straits Times.

In this regard, Prabowo’s global endeavours have illustrated a truism: leaders need strong domestic support. 

This way, they can steer and lead their countries through challenging times. (RR)