Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto yesterday described his country as Russia’s gateway to Southeast Asia, as he pushed for closer trade and investment ties between the two nations.
Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prabowo urged Russian businesses to invest in Indonesia, stating that the Pacific should become a “highway between our two economies.”
“For Eurasian businesses, Indonesia is a natural entry point to ASEAN,” Prabowo said, according to a report by the Straits Times. He described the two nations as having ” very profound and important historical ties that have lasted for more than five decades” and said that Moscow was “an important partner” for Jakarta.
Prabowo apologized to Putin for having skipped the ASEAN-Russia Commemorative Summit in Kazan in June, which was attended by leaders from 10 of ASEAN’s 11 member states, and joked that he was paying off my ‘debt’ now by coming to Vladivostok.” Prabowo also extended an invitation for Putin to visit Indonesia at some point in the future.
In his own address at the EEF, which was established in 2015 with the aim of drawing investment into the underdeveloped Russian Far East, Putin emphasized the importance of Russia’s relationship with Asia in general and Indonesia in particular. He said that the Asia-Pacific “is a powerful centre of growth and sets the pace for the development of the entire global economy.”
