President Prabowo to Visit UK to Explore Cooperation, Focus on Education

Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is scheduled to pay an official visit to the United Kingdom next week to explore cooperation in various sectors, with a particular focus on education, a senior official said on Thursday.

The planned visit was announced during a meeting between President Prabowo and rectors, deans, professors, and university leaders from state and private universities across Indonesia at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.

Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Stella Christie told reporters that the president himself had informed participants about the upcoming UK visit during the meeting. She noted that she is directly involved in preparing the visit, especially in relation to educational cooperation and related agendas.

“I am also directly preparing engagements with Russell Group Universities,” Stella said, referring to the association of 24 leading universities in the UK. She added that President Prabowo intends to meet only with top-tier institutions as part of his education-focused agenda. “The president only wants to meet with the best ones,” she emphasized.

The deputy minister did not disclose the exact date of the visit. However, information circulating among journalists suggests that President Prabowo is expected to travel to the UK and possibly other countries between January 18 and 25, 2026.

Earlier on Thursday, President Prabowo spent around three hours meeting with approximately 1,200 academics, particularly from the social sciences and humanities, as well as rectors, deans, and university leaders. During the session, he delivered a briefing and announced a significant increase in the research funding ceiling for 2026.

According to officials, the research funding ceiling will be raised by Rp4 trillion (approximately US$230 million), representing about a 50 percent increase from the initial allocation of Rp8 trillion (around US$460.5 million). This brings the total research funding ceiling for 2026 to Rp12 trillion (approximately US$690 million).

With the additional funding, universities are expected to prioritize research that supports national programs on food self-sufficiency, energy self-sufficiency, industrialization, and downstreaming, in line with the government’s development agenda.