Russia is awaiting the visit of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. The invitation to the leader of the southeastern country was conveyed by Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, who visited Jakarta. He noted that the parties reached concrete results and agreements during the negotiations. So, they paid a lot of attention to security issues — Shoigu noted that Moscow had helped Jakarta train more than 6,8 thousand military personnel and this work was continuing. Economic aspects were also discussed: agriculture, energy, banking and financial sectors. During his visit, Shoigu held meetings with Defense Minister Shafri Shamsuddin, as well as with President Prabowo Subianto.
Shoigu's official visit to Jakarta
On February 25, the official visit of Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu to Indonesia ended. The host party organized the ceremony of the honor guard's divorce. In the morning (around 4 a.m. Moscow time), he held talks with the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Shafri Shamsuddin. As a result, the parties exchanged memorable gifts.
The highlight of the visit was Shoigu's meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace. The Russian representative conveyed Vladimir Putin's invitation to visit Moscow. The dates of the visit have not yet been announced, but its likely holding this year confirms the dialogue at the highest level.
— I conveyed the president's message, there is also an invitation to our country, it was accepted with pleasure, and I think that this will have its continuation in the relations between our countries. This year we are celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations, but it is pleasant that the contribution of both the Soviet Union and Russia to the restoration of the economy, education, and many other things is remembered here," Shoigu said after the talks.
It is worth noting that other Russian-Indonesian groups were working in parallel, discussing cooperation in various areas. So, the talks that took place on Sunday touched upon key areas of cooperation — from the military-technical sphere to agriculture.
The main topic of both central meetings was security. As Shoigu noted, Russia has trained more than 6.8 thousand military specialists for Indonesia, and this work continues. Anti-terrorism issues have always been at the center of our relations, Dmitry Mosyakov, professor and head of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, said in an interview with Izvestia.
— The security sector is our strong point in the region. States are successfully adopting our experience in the fight against terrorism. Experience in countering radical extremists is also important. In Indonesia, in particular, there was a period when religious extremists were very active. Plus, Jakarta may be facing separatism. Anti-terrorism issues have always been almost at the center of our relations. Back in 2016, when the first Russia–ASEAN meeting was held, security cooperation was the main topic of negotiations there," the expert noted.
The parties also discussed projects in agriculture, energy, banking and financial sectors. Shoigu noted that Moscow and Jakarta achieved concrete results during the meeting. In 2023, the trade turnover between the two countries continued to grow and reached $4.1 billion. In three years (by October 2024), the growth was about 75%. Russia supplies Indonesia with oil, gas, weapons and other goods, while Indonesia exports agricultural products, textiles and other products to Russia. Despite Jakarta's cautious stance due to Western sanctions, bilateral security and economic projects continue to develop.
Relations between Russia and Indonesia
However, according to Mosyakov, Indonesia's approach should not be overestimated — this state has close ties with Western countries. It is worth noting that Jakarta, for example, supported the UNGA resolution on February 24, which condemns Russia's actions in the Ukrainian direction. Nevertheless, she "sympathizes with Moscow, and the personal relations of the leaders remain good," the expert added.
The parties also touched upon the Ukrainian crisis.
— We talked and discussed all the latest actions and steps being taken in relation to Ukraine and the holding of negotiations on the track of Russia and the United States. We have conveyed to our colleagues and, first of all, of course, to the president where we are today, what is being discussed and what prospects there are," Shoigu told reporters.
Sergei Shoigu's visit to Indonesia shows that it can be expected to support Russia's final position on ending the conflict in Ukraine, Teuku Rezashia, associate professor of the Department of International Relations at Pajajaran University and the Presidential University in Indonesia, told Izvestia.
— Russia may be interested in a deeper study of Prabowo's ideas outlined in the Shangri-la 2024 Dialogue on the need to create a unified demilitarized zone on the borders of Russia and Ukraine, he believes.
Ties between Russia and Indonesia go back to the 1940s and 1950s, when the USSR supported Jakarta's struggle for independence from the Netherlands. Indonesia's first president Sukarno, whose monument Sergei Shoigu honored during his visit, called the Soviet Union his "closest friend." In those years, Moscow helped build infrastructure, supplied weapons, and trained the military — traditions that persist today.
However, after the Cold War, contacts between the two countries experienced a decline. A new impetus emerged in the 2000s: in 2007, Vladimir Putin became the first Russian leader to pay an official visit to Indonesia since 1960. 18 years later, against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis and anti-Russian sanctions, Jakarta, avoiding a direct choice between the West and the East, continues a constructive dialogue with Moscow, betting on mutual benefit.
Russia and Indonesia actively cooperate through international organizations such as the United Nations and ASEAN. Both countries advocate strengthening the role of developing countries in global affairs. In addition, Indonesia joined the BRICS on January 1.
It is worth noting the special level of cooperation in the educational sphere. In the 2023-2024 academic year, Indonesian students were allocated 300 quotas at Russian universities, which is almost twice as much as in 2021-2022. In October 2024, the President of Indonesia announced that he would provide scholarships for 20,000 students so that they could study science, technology, engineering and mathematics abroad. Indonesian Ambassador to Russia Jose Antonio Morato Tavares noted in January that cooperation in the field of education is one of the main focuses of the Indonesian leader.
In the context of the reformatting of the world order, Moscow and Jakarta seem to have found a formula for cooperation: a minimum of ideology, a maximum of specifics. And if Subianto's visit to Russia ends with new agreements in 2025, it will send an even stronger signal: the dialogue, despite all the nuances, continues.
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