Jakarta. A possible cooperation between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia on the so-called food estate program in Papua is beginning to take shape as talks continue.

President Prabowo Subianto has set an ambitious target of making Indonesia self-sufficient in food without having to rely on imports by 2027. To this end, the retired army general intends to carry on the work of his predecessor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo of developing well-integrated, large-scale agricultural lands in a program popularly known as the food estate. The program now mainly concentrates on Merauke, which lies in South Papua and spans around 2 million hectares. Amidst work to boost domestic crop production, the Indonesian government has been in touch with its international partners, including the UAE. 

Food self-sufficiency was on the agenda when UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) hosted Prabowo for a state visit a week ago. The meeting is expected to drive Emirati agrifood companies’ interest in making an investment, according to UAE Ambassador to Indonesia Abdulla Salem AlDhaheri. The envoy had also recently met with Chief Food Affairs Minister Zulkifli Hasan, further moving the needle on a food self-sufficiency partnership.

“[The possible cooperation] is not [the UAE] supplying food [to Indonesia]. It is more about making an investment in the country. We will come with the technologies, know-how, and expertise. We are currently evaluating the food estate program in Papua. One of our companies had even visited Papua,” AlDhaheri told the press in Jakarta on Thursday evening.

“So we have something on the ground. [The deal] is not yet finalized, but we are discussing it,” AlDhaheri said.

The diplomat confirmed that Elite Agro -- an Emirati agriculture giant that boasts large-scale integrated farming operations -- was among the companies that the Indonesian government had been negotiating with. State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir earlier this year revealed Elite Agro’s interest in the food estate program -- a comment he made when he was still under Jokowi. Erick told reporters at the time that the investment could be a win-win for Indonesia and the UAE amid rising food commodity prices. Elite Agro has farms in the UAE, Serbia, and Morocco to produce a wide range of vegetables, cereals, and fruits.

In just his second week in office, Prabowo headed to Papua to inspect the rice-planting process in the Merauke Food Estate. The government also classifies the Merauke Food Estate program as a “national strategic project”. This status means that the government will likely give extra attention to building the food estate. Indonesia also has a 500-hectare food estate in Keerom, Papua. 

The UAE has invested $22.84 million in Indonesia so far this year as of September, government data shows. The Emirati investment went to 266 projects.