Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto as Moscow bids to strengthen ties in the Global South amid Western efforts to isolate the country following its war on Ukraine.
On Thursday, Putin and Prabowo met in the Russian city of St Petersburg and signed a declaration on strategic partnership.
Danatara, Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, whose CEOs were also in Saint Petersburg, signed an agreement to create an investment fund worth 2 billion euros ($2.29bn).
In a statement after the talks, Prabowo said that the relationship between the two countries was “getting stronger again”.
“My meeting with President Putin today was intense, warm and productive. In all fields of economics, technical cooperation, trade, investment, agriculture – they all have experienced significant improvements,” he said.
Moreover, during the meeting at the Konstantin Palace, Putin acknowledged Indonesia’s entry into the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) grouping of emerging economies as a full member.
“Our relations with Indonesia are developing steadily. Trade turnover is growing. We have good prospects in a number of promising and very interesting areas of cooperation,” Putin said, according to Russian state news outlet TASS.
“This includes agriculture, space, and energy, as well as military-technical cooperation. Our interaction is very great, and it is growing,” he added.
As Southeast Asia’s largest economy relies primarily on coal as a source of power, despite its massive potential for renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar, and geothermal, Indonesia is seeking to boost power generation while capping its carbon emissions, considering nuclear power as a solution.
With Jakarta maintaining a neutral foreign policy, it has walked a delicate balance between regional competitors, China and the United States.
But Prabowo, who came to power last year, has looked to diversify the country’s alliances instead of relying heavily on Western partners.
His decision to skip the G7 summit in Canada this week in favour of talks with Putin raised fears of a tilt towards Moscow, analysts have said, after the two countries held their first joint naval drills last year.
Meanwhile, the Russian leader said that on Friday, he and Prabowo will take part in the plenary session of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
