Disaster

Prabowo OKs Foreign Aid for Forest Fires, BNPB to Work Out Details

Stateline MEDIA Newsroom•October 17, 2026•3 min read

President Prabowo Subianto has approved offers of aid from neighboring countries to help extinguish forest and land fires in Indonesia. Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said technical discussions are now being coordinated by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), while the government has deployed 60,000 personnel and 48 helicopters and aircraft.

Key Facts

President Prabowo Subianto has approved offers of aid from neighboring countries to handle forest and land fires in Indonesia.
The statement was delivered by Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir after a closed-door meeting with House Commission I at the Senayan parliamentary complex, Jakarta, on Thursday (10/15/2026).
Discussions on the form and mechanism of the aid are now at the technical level, coordinated by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
The government has deployed 60,177 joint personnel and 48 helicopters and aircraft for water bombing and weather-modification operations across six provinces.
Willingness to accept foreign aid began with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's phone call to President Prabowo on Thursday (10/8) about haze from Kalimantan and Sumatra affecting Malaysia and Singapore.
The ASEAN Secretariat has maintained a level-3 alert for transboundary haze since August through the ACC THP mechanism.

Prabowo Approves Aid from Neighboring Countries

President Prabowo Subianto has approved offers of aid from neighboring countries to support the handling of forest and land fires raging across several regions of Indonesia. Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir confirmed the decision after a closed-door meeting with House of Representatives Commission I at the Senayan parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Thursday (10/15/2026).

“As we know, the President has conveyed his approval, and this is now in the process of technical-level discussion. The technical level is BNPB,” said Arrmanatha, who goes by Tata. He stressed that discussions on the form and mechanism of the aid are still underway and have not been announced to the public.

According to Tata, handling the fires is a serious concern for the President because the haze impact spreads even beyond Indonesia. “The challenge remains very great, especially in terms of weather,” he said.

It Began with Anwar Ibrahim's Phone Call

Indonesia's willingness to accept foreign aid began with high-level Indonesia-Malaysia communication. On Thursday (10/8), Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced he had called President Prabowo to discuss haze from Kalimantan and Sumatra affecting Malaysia and Singapore.

Following up on that conversation, Minister Tata contacted Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan on Saturday (10/10). Tata briefed Mohamad Hasan on Indonesia's measures, including the deployment of more than 60,000 personnel and 48 helicopters and aircraft for water bombing and weather modification. Anwar expressed Malaysia's readiness to provide any cooperation and asked Malaysia's foreign minister to contact the ASEAN Secretariat for a meeting of ASEAN environment ministers.

60,000 Personnel and 48 Helicopters Deployed

As of October 13, 2026, a total of 60,177 joint personnel had been deployed to fight the fires. The personnel come from fire departments, the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), the National Police, the Forestry Ministry, regional forestry offices, and volunteers. The operation is supported by helicopters and aircraft for water bombing and weather-modification operations in six provinces.

At the regional level, Indonesia is also engaged in the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THP) mechanism. According to Minister Tata, Indonesia has fulfilled its regular reporting obligations and shared data, response measures, and updates on the fire situation. Since August, the ASEAN Secretariat has set a level-3 alert for transboundary haze in Southeast Asia.

Thick Smoke Blankets Palangkaraya, Air Quality Index Hits 950

On the ground, conditions remain alarming. Monitoring in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, shows thick haze once again posing a serious threat to residents. Despite brief light rain, the Air Pollution Standard Index (ISPU) in the area surged to 950 micrograms per cubic meter.

Thousands of hectares of land have burned over the past four months. Haze has been reported blanketing Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand, making the arrival of international aid increasingly urgent.