KUALA LUMPUR - Indonesia’s Migrant Worker Protection Minister (P2MI), Mukhtarudin met with Indonesia’s Ambassador to Italy, Junimart Girsang, to discuss labour cooperation and plans to send 500,000 migrant workers abroad in 2026.

The plan is a priority programme directed by President Prabowo Subianto, with 300,000 of the workers expected to come from vocational high schools (SMK) with specific job skills.

Minister Mukhtarudin said he welcomed the proposal and expressed full support to pursue Italy as an official destination country.

“First of all we are very thankful for this initiative. If Italy is officially confirmed as a destination country, we will submit it to the Ministry of Manpower and immediately prepare a Government-to-Government diplomatic note,” he said last Monday.

Mukhtarudin also stressed that President Prabowo strongly supports efforts to protect and empower Indonesian migrant workers.

He added that Indonesia’s demographic bonus is an opportunity to place more young workers in both domestic and overseas markets.

“The President really cares about migrant workers. The training budget has been prepared, including international-standard training.

“We hope that Gen Z can all be absorbed, both at home and abroad. This is a good opportunity,” he said.

Mukhtarudin also said the government is pushing to revise Law Number 18 of 2017 to strengthen authority over placement and protection of workers.

“With this revision, all placement and protection authority will be centralized at the Ministry of P2MI. 

“This will make coordination easier and provide maximum protection for professional migrant workers, especially those with middle to high level skills,” he said.

Junimart said Indonesia is seeking 100,000 job slots in Italy, especially in the nursing and hospitality sectors.

“For Italy, we are requesting 100,000 labour slots, especially in the nursing and hospitality sectors. 

“The Italian government, through its policy pillars is very welcoming toward trained workers from Indonesia,” Junimart said.

He said only workers who pass intensive professional training will be selected to fill these positions.

“We will of course send people who are already trained. That is only Italy, and there are still other countries. In principle, we are ready,” he added.

The meeting ended with a commitment to follow up with technical discussions involving the Indonesian Embassy in Rome and Italian authorities to realise the targeted placement of 100,000 migrant workers in nursing and hospitality.

The initiative is seen as an early breakthrough under the Prabowo-Gibran administration to utilise Indonesia’s demographic advantages and position the country as a major supplier of skilled global labour.