Washington, D.C. – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto met with U.S. President Joe Biden, who expressed his support for Prabowo’s flagship program to provide free nutritious meals to schoolchildren. This endorsement from the U.S. follows similar support from China, marking backing from two global superpowers for the initiative.

The announcement was made during Prabowo’s meeting with Biden at the White House on Tuesday, November 12 (local time). Biden’s endorsement was detailed in a joint statement on the White House website on Wednesday, November 13.

“President Biden also voiced his support for Indonesia’s national program to provide healthy and nutritious meals for school children and pregnant women,” the White House statement read.

Prabowo and Biden also committed to advancing health cooperation between the U.S. and Indonesia, focusing on clinical research, public health, and improving health systems to tackle emerging and chronic health issues, including infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. The leaders welcomed an upcoming high-level Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on health cooperation between Indonesia and the U.S., highlighting a shared commitment to transforming Indonesia’s healthcare landscape.

“This initiative underscores the strong commitment of both countries to collaborate in achieving Indonesia’s health transformation goals,” stated the White House.

Earlier, Prabowo also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where China committed financial support for Indonesia’s nutritious meal program. The agreement, titled “Food Supplementation and School Feeding Programme in Indonesia,” was formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indonesia and China on November 10, witnessed by Prabowo and Xi.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto noted that China, which has previously implemented a similar program domestically, will now extend financial support to Indonesia’s initiative. (RR)