Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has announced cuts to the government’s official overseas travel budget, redirecting the funds toward repairing 330,000 schools across the country.
Speaking on February 10, he acknowledged that the current state budget could only cover repairs for around 20,000 schools. To address this, funds previously earmarked for official travel abroad will be reallocated to support school renovations.
The President emphasised that international travel for government officials will now be strictly limited to essential state duties and study programmes. He also warned civil servants against making unnecessary official trips overseas for the next five years.
Prabowo explained that his official visits are undertaken only in response to invitations as Head of State to attend key international conferences that benefit Indonesia.
In addition to reducing the overseas travel budget, the President has ordered a 306 trillion IDR (18 billion USD) cut in both the State budget and Regional budget.
The reallocated funds will be used to support vital public programmes, including the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) initiative, food and energy self-sufficiency efforts, and improvements in the healthcare sector./.
