Indonesia Putin receives Indonesian colleague in the Kremlin

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has received Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto in Moscow for talks on expanding relations between the two countries.

Despite the West's sanctions against Russia, trade between the two countries has doubled, Putin said. A free trade agreement between Indonesia and the Eurasian Economic Union led by Russia, which is basically ready to be signed, gives hope for further growth.

According to the translation, Prabowo welcomed the fact that the state airline Aeroflot is planning direct flights to the vacation island of Bali, which is popular with Russians. He also expressed interest in cooperation with the Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom. "We have talked about small modules and also about large reactors," he said.

The former general and Indonesian defense minister Prabowo, ex-son-in-law of the former dictator Suharto, was elected in February and is due to take office in October. The designated head of state also met with Russian Defense Minister Andrey Beloussov to discuss military cooperation between the two countries. There are already joint maneuvers and training. Beloussov described Indonesia as one of Russia's most important partners in the Asia-Pacific region.

Russia invited Indonesia to the next naval parade in St. Petersburg in July next year. Indonesia, in turn, is expecting Russian arms manufacturers at an arms fair in November. President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, who is still in office, was a guest of Putin in June 2022, just a few months after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Russia is an important grain supplier for Indonesia.