Check with Jakarta: Putin called Indonesia one of the key partners in the Asia-Pacific region

Russia and Indonesia have approved a declaration on strategic partnership: the parties will take measures to simplify the visa regime and enhance cooperation between ASEAN, G20 and BRICS. The document was approved on June 19 following talks between Vladimir Putin and President Prabowo Subianto at the SPIEF. One of the vectors of bilateral development is economic cooperation. The trade turnover between Russia and Indonesia has already increased by 40% in the first four months of this year. The planned agreement on the creation of a free trade zone between the EAEU and Indonesia will also open up new prospects. Tourism was also affected: Indonesia is ready to consider increasing the number of direct flights from Russia not only to Bali, but also to other regions of the country. Vladimir Putin had other international meetings that day, including talks with South African Vice President Paul Mashatile.

Who did Vladimir Putin hold talks with at the SPIEF

Vladimir Putin's second day at the SPIEF was actually entirely devoted to Russian-Indonesian relations. At the Konstantinovsky Palace, the head of the Russian Federation held talks with President Prabowo Subianto, who arrived in our country on an official visit. He visited Russia several times as Minister of Defense, and on July 31, 2024, he paid a visit to the Russian Federation as the elected but not yet inaugurated President of Indonesia.

Vladimir Putin warmly welcomed his counterpart and named him the main foreign guest of SPIEF 2025. Prabowo Subianto, in turn, expressed gratitude for the reception. Relations between the two countries are developing very actively, as both leaders acknowledge. The evidence of this is a considerable number of bilateral visits by high—ranking officials. For example, in the past eight months alone, the Indonesian Foreign Minister has already visited Russia three times.

— Our relations with Indonesia are developing steadily, trade is growing, and we have good prospects in a number of priority and very interesting areas of cooperation. This includes agriculture, space, and energy, as well as cooperation in the field of military-technical cooperation. We have a large volume, and a growing volume of interaction," the Russian president said.

Following the results of the Russian-Indonesian talks, Vladimir Putin and Prabowo Subianto made statements to the media. The Russian Federation calls Indonesia one of the key partners in the Asia-Pacific region, and Indonesia also sees Russia as a friendly state, with which it pays increasing attention to cooperation, primarily in the trade and economic sector. The trade turnover between Russia and Indonesia increased by 40% in the first four months of this year, Vladimir Putin noted. He reported an increase in counter shipments of Russian wheat and Indonesian agricultural raw materials.

"We are seeing significant growth and development in almost all sectors, including economic cooperation, technical cooperation, trade, investment cooperation, agricultural cooperation, and other areas," the Indonesian president said.

The Russian leader expressed hope that an agreement on the creation of a free trade area (FTA) between the EAEU and Indonesia would be signed soon.: This will open up new prospects for enhancing mutual trade between the Republic and the Eurasian Economic Union. Prabowo Subianto confirmed that he is paying great attention to the work on this agreement.

Other topics include energy. Russia is ready to expand direct supplies of oil and LNG to Indonesia, as well as to join the development of existing and new offshore fields in the country, the Russian president said. Moscow is also open to cooperation with Jakarta in the field of peaceful nuclear energy, including in the framework of projects on non-energy applications of nuclear technologies.

Much has been done in recent years for the travel of citizens of the two countries. Thus, direct flights from Moscow to Bali were resumed, and in January, the Consul General of the Russian Federation assumed his duties on this island. Moreover, Indonesia is ready to consider increasing the number of direct flights from Russia not only to Bali, but also to other regions of the country.

What is the essence of the declaration on partnership between Moscow and Jakarta?

Following the talks between Vladimir Putin and Prabowo Subianto, Russia and Indonesia signed a number of joint documents, in particular, an agreement on cooperation in the field of higher education, a memorandum on cooperation in the field of transport, as well as in the field of information and communication technologies and the media. An agreement was also signed on the creation of a €2 billion Russian-Indonesian investment platform. Moscow and Jakarta also adopted a central document, the declaration on strategic partnership between the two countries.

— The declaration on strategic partnership, which Mr. President and I approved following the talks, sets out serious and responsible tasks for the further development of Russian-Indonesian relations in a variety of areas. And, above all, in trade and economics," Vladimir Putin said.

The goal of the strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and Indonesia is to take relations to a new level by increasing cooperation in ASEAN, the G20 and BRICS, including in areas such as settlements in national currencies and the development of alternative financial mechanisms, follows from the declaration. Indonesia became a full member of the BRICS on January 1.: This will make a significant contribution to the development and work of this organization, which is gaining more and more weight in international affairs, Vladimir Putin believes.

— Russia has done everything possible to ensure that Indonesia becomes a full member of the BRICS. We are glad that Indonesia has assumed these rights since January 1. Given Indonesia's weight and influence in modern global politics and economics, such a step was undoubtedly the right one and will have a good, high added value for the BRICS and all its cooperation mechanisms," Vladimir Putin said.

In addition, the Russian Federation and Indonesia will take measures to simplify the visa regime, according to the declaration. In general, it provides for cooperation between the two countries in political, economic, law enforcement, human rights, scientific, educational, cultural and informational aspects. This document, both from the point of view of Indonesian and Russian approaches, indicates the willingness of the parties to perceive each other as partners included in the priority foreign policy circle of interaction, said Nikita Kuklin, an expert at the ASEAN Center, associate professor of Oriental Studies at MGIMO of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

— This document is especially important, since more than 20 years have passed since the adoption of the Declaration on the Foundations of Friendly and Partnership Relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Indonesia. And if the latter defined our relations after more than 30 years of the "freeze" of the Suharto period, the collapse of the USSR and the Cold War, then the new declaration, I am sure, will become the basis for our friendly interaction already in the current era of global transformations, the expert believes.

Who was against Subianto's visit to Russia

The talks between Russia and Indonesia were informative, and we managed to discuss the main topics on the international agenda, Vladimir Putin concluded. It is noteworthy that Prabowo Subianto's visit to Russia comes amid increasing criticism from the G7: the Indonesian leader's decision to attend the SPIEF provoked a negative reaction from new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. He invited Prabowo Subianto to the group's summit, which took place on June 15-17. However, the Indonesian president decided to skip the event, instead traveling to Russia and Singapore.

— Indonesia strives to maintain positive relations with everyone and does not take sides, remaining active and neutral. At the beginning of his presidency, Prabowo Subianto announced the implementation of the "million friends — zero enemies" course, intending to follow this concept authored by the sixth President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. In the context of difficult negotiations with the United States on Trump's tariffs and attempts by European countries to impose certain approaches, Indonesia continues to take truly independent steps, including a visit to the SPIEF," Nikita Kuklin explained.

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry stressed that Russia's invitation had been extended much earlier, and said that such criticism did not take into account Indonesia's right to pursue an independent course of foreign policy. After the rather successful visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Indonesia in May this year, Western countries sought to involve the republic in cooperation and accelerate its accession to the OECD.

That evening, Vladimir Putin concluded a series of public international meetings with a conversation with South African Vice President Paul Mashatile. The Head of State stressed that strengthening ties with the countries of the African continent remains one of Russia's priorities. Thus, the Russian Federation and South Africa continue to increase economic cooperation, last year the trade turnover increased by 2%.