Jakarta, March 20 -- Chairperson of the National Economic Council (DEN) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan highlighted the positive impact of the free nutritious meals program on economic growth, job creation, the development of the economic ecosystem, and poverty reduction.

"We are all amazed to see that the impact of this program is indeed extraordinary on economic growth, jobs, the ecosystem built from the economy, as well as poverty reduction," Luhut stated after a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on Wednesday (March 18).

According to Prof. Arief Anshory Yusuf, a poverty expert from Padjajaran University, the free meals program has the potential to create up to 1.9 million new jobs and reduce the poverty rate to 5.8 percent i...