Indonesia's Prabowo Meets Putin, Seeks Stronger Ties with Russia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Following the meeting, Prabowo declared Russia a "great friend" and expressed his desire to deepen cooperation in defense, energy, and education.

Prabowo, currently Indonesia's defense minister, is set to take over the presidency from Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in October.

“We consider Russia as a great friend,” he said in a statement. “I would like to continue to maintain and enhance this relationship. In our history, we remember Russia has always helped us in many aspects when we were in difficulties.”

Prabowo expressed keen interest in expanding partnerships in defense, nuclear energy, and education, particularly sending Indonesian students to study medicine in Russia.

This Moscow visit follows Prabowo's earlier trip to Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping. While emphasizing Indonesia's "policy of friendship" with China, Prabowo has consistently affirmed the country's non-aligned foreign policy, open to cooperation with nations like the United States.

Regarding nuclear energy, Prabowo expressed interest in collaborating with Russia on both modular and main reactors. “I discussed this with several related institutions [in Russia],” he said, as broadcast on international television covering the Kremlin.

Nuclear reactors are one of the vital components of nuclear power plants. Russia is currently one of the countries in the world whose electricity needs are supplied by nuclear power.

While Putin did not provide an immediate response, the two leaders were scheduled to continue their closed discussions during a joint breakfast on Thursday, August 1. The meeting aimed to explore broader cooperation opportunities between the two countries.

In addition to nuclear energy, Prabowo expressed a desire to increase the number of Indonesian students studying medicine and engineering in Russia. He mentioned the country's shortage of 160,000 doctors.

“We want to send our sons and daughters to pursue higher education at Russian universities, especially in the fields of medicine and engineering. I plan to allocate a special budget for this scholarship program.”

Prabowo highlighted the historical significance of Russia as a destination for Indonesian students, particularly in the 1960s. He also emphasized the importance of continued cooperation in defense, defense industry, and tourism.

This meeting marked Prabowo's fourth visit to Russia in the past four years. “But this is the first time for me to be received in Kremlin by President Putin,” he said. His recent diplomatic tour also included visits to France, Serbia, and Turkey. 

According to state news agency TASS, Russia expressed its readiness to increase agricultural product exports to Indonesia and invest in the country's energy, transport, and infrastructure sectors. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said that Indonesia's role in the war in Ukraine, which Putin calls a special operation, is "growing significantly nowadays".

Last year, Prabowo had previously proposed a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine war, including a ceasefire and a demilitarized zone, during the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore.

ANTARA | REUTERS 

Editor's Choice: Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Visits Turkiye, Meets President Erdogan

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News