TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Mikhail Yurievich Galuzin said Russia’s economic turmoil would not affect its investment plans in Indonesia because Russia’s domestic economic problems would only be brief.

Mikhail said Russia’s natural resources, industry and science potentials would save the country’s economy in the long-term. “Economic turmoil is a common thing, but Russia has large economic potential,” he said at Coordinating Economic Ministry office on Monday.

Exchange rates in several countries have weakened, including Russian rubel that dropped 10.2 percent due to US economic improvement, which caused Russia to increase its interest rate by 650 base points from 10.5 percent to 17 percent.

Mikhail said Russia had economic potential in the energy sector, allowing for its consistent oil and gas production. He added Russia also played a key role in the global economy as it was capable of building 10 to 20 nuclear power plants in India and developing space technology.

Regarding Russia’s investment plans in Indonesia, Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with the Indonesian government, which results in a cooperation deal in smelter construction and earth resources explorations beginning February 2015.

Coordinating Economic Minister Sofyan Djalil said he had declined an investment offer from Russia to build nuclear power plants because Indonesia had not thought about nuclear energy development in the near future.

Sofyan said President Joko Widodo’s 35,000-watt electricity program did not include nuclear because Indonesia still had many natural resources that could be used for electricity. “We consider coal, gas, geothermal, minihydro as the most appropriate and least controversial.”

TRI ARTINING PUTRI