President Prabowo recently held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia, marking a key part of his official visit to Russia and attendance at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2025. Prabowo thanked Russia for supporting Indonesia's accession as a full member of BRICS, emphasizing close interactions between the two heads of state and high-level officials, as well as positive progress in economic, trade, and strategic cooperation, particularly under the framework of the Eurasian Free Trade Agreement. Putin noted that Russia-Indonesia relations continue to develop steadily in areas such as trade, agriculture, space exploration, energy, and military-technical cooperation, and considers Indonesia, as a BRICS member, to have a strategic role in strengthening Global South cooperation and promoting a fairer and more inclusive global order, with broad prospects and development space for cooperation in multiple fields. Substantive negotiations on the Indonesia-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement have been completed, with the target of signing in 2025.
The two sides discussed cross-border payment cooperation, including the adoption of Indonesia's QR code payment system (QRIS) and local currency transactions, enabling direct bilateral trade without the need for third parties such as the UAE. Indonesia intends to expand cooperation with Russia in the energy sector, to which Putin responded positively, promoting coordination of technical standards through mutual recognition agreements. The two sides will collaborate on the development of small modular reactors and cooperate in the pharmaceutical and scientific research fields. Russia proposed supplying fertilizer raw materials, crop seeds, and meat products to Indonesia. Indonesia is pushing to increase exports of crude palm oil to Russia to expand markets and boost national export value. Prabowo suggested increasing the frequency of direct flights from Moscow to Denpasar, currently at three per week, which, given the strategic route and approximately 12-hour direct flight duration, is expected to enhance connectivity between the two countries and increase the number of Russian tourists visiting Indonesia. Indonesia has committed to increasing the number of its students sent to Russian universities. The two sides will also cooperate in sports such as badminton and various forms of people-to-people exchanges to strengthen cultural ties. This meeting reflects Indonesia's commitment to actively participating in building a more balanced and inclusive global economic architecture by deepening its strategic partnership with Russia, while also highlighting interactions and collaboration among member states within the BRICS cooperation framework.
President Prabowo recently held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia, marking a key part of his official visit to Russia and attendance at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2025. Prabowo thanked Russia for supporting Indonesia's accession as a full member of BRICS, emphasizing close interactions between the two heads of state and high-level officials, as well as positive progress in economic, trade, and strategic cooperation, particularly under the framework of the Eurasian Free Trade Agreement. Putin noted that Russia-Indonesia relations continue to develop steadily in areas such as trade, agriculture, space exploration, energy, and military-technical cooperation, and considers Indonesia, as a BRICS member, to have a strategic role in strengthening Global South cooperation and promoting a fairer and more inclusive global order, with broad prospects and development space for cooperation in multiple fields. Substantive negotiations on the Indonesia-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement have been completed, with the target of signing in 2025.
The two sides discussed cross-border payment cooperation, including the adoption of Indonesia's QR code payment system (QRIS) and local currency transactions, enabling direct bilateral trade without the need for third parties such as the UAE. Indonesia intends to expand cooperation with Russia in the energy sector, to which Putin responded positively, promoting coordination of technical standards through mutual recognition agreements. The two sides will collaborate on the development of small modular reactors and cooperate in the pharmaceutical and scientific research fields. Russia proposed supplying fertilizer raw materials, crop seeds, and meat products to Indonesia. Indonesia is pushing to increase exports of crude palm oil to Russia to expand markets and boost national export value. Prabowo suggested increasing the frequency of direct flights from Moscow to Denpasar, currently at three per week, which, given the strategic route and approximately 12-hour direct flight duration, is expected to enhance connectivity between the two countries and increase the number of Russian tourists visiting Indonesia. Indonesia has committed to increasing the number of its students sent to Russian universities. The two sides will also cooperate in sports such as badminton and various forms of people-to-people exchanges to strengthen cultural ties. This meeting reflects Indonesia's commitment to actively participating in building a more balanced and inclusive global economic architecture by deepening its strategic partnership with Russia, while also highlighting interactions and collaboration among member states within the BRICS cooperation framework.