President departs for the Philippines to attend 48th ASEAN Summit

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto has departed to attend the 48th ASEAN Summit, scheduled for Cebu, Philippines, on May 7-8, 2026. According to a statement from the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday, President Prabowo flew to the Philippines from Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base, Jakarta, on Thursday at 9:10 a.m. He was seen off by Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Muhaimin Iskandar, Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, and Head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Muhammad Herindra. Upon arrival in Cebu, President Prabowo is scheduled to attend one of the agenda items of the 48th ASEAN Summit, namely the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit, a strategic forum to strengthen connectivity and economic cooperation within the ASEAN subregion. During the visit, President Prabowo will also discuss strengthening cooperation among ASEAN countries, including efforts to address current global dynamics. Other issues to be discussed include global developments impacting the region, including efforts to maintain energy security and strengthen coordination in responding to geopolitical dynamics. The ASEAN leaders' meeting is also expected to strengthen regional collaboration in maintaining stability, economic growth, and strategic cooperation across various sectors. Accompanying President Prabowo on the flight to the Philippines are Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya. On Wednesday (May 6), Minister Lahadalia conveyed that the president will also discuss food and energy issues at the summit. "There are two issues: the first is food, and the second is energy," he remarked. For energy issues, one of the topics discussed at the ASEAN Summit was efforts to build energy power in the Southeast Asian region, and nickel as crucial energy commodity. "Nickel is an energy commodity that can be converted into batteries," he added. Indonesia is among the few countries with a fully integrated electric vehicle (EV) battery ecosystem spanning upstream to downstream sectors. Therefore, Indonesia remains open to cooperation with other countries, including the Philippines, if the country seeks to supply nickel to Indonesian smelters.