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On June 20, 2025, within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), a Russia-Indonesia business dialogue was held to address the following questions: what steps must both countries take to systematically develop cooperation? What measures is Indonesia implementing to expand opportunities for foreign investors? Which industin Russia and Indonesia hold the greatest investment potential?
The session was moderated by Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP). The event was attended by Denis Manturov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs of Indonesia; Roman Sklyar, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan; Anindya Bakrie, Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Andrey Nikipelov, Deputy Director General for Engineering and Industrial Solutions at the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom; Dmitry Konyaev, CEO of Uralchem JSC; Boris Titov, Special Representative of the President of Russia for Relations with International Organizations for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals; and Clayton Allen Wenas, President of PT Freeport Indonesia.
Opening the session, Alexander Shokhin emphasized the importance of maintaining business dialogue, taking into account the results of recent talks between the Presidents of Russia and Indonesia, the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Indonesia's accession to BRICS in January 2025, and the final stage of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between Indonesia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU):
"Our business dialogue is not just an exploratory exercise to see what we might do. We are already planning to develop roadmaps and implement the agreements reached by our heads of state. We hope that both governments and business communities will actively engage in this work."
Concerning the growing Russia-Indonesia relations, Mr. Shokhin shared a recent conversation with Alexey Maslov, the Dean of the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University, where he asked which foreign language students currently prefer to study:
"Naturally, I thought it would be Chinese. However, it turns out Indonesian now ranks first. Given the abundance of Chinese language specialists, studying Indonesia, as one of the most dynamically developing economies not only in the Asian-Pacific but globally, is becoming increasingly attractive."
Denis Manturov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, noted that both countries have the opportunity to deepen their dialogue and expand mutually beneficial partnerships:
"Our countries share a commitment to sovereign development, which is reflected in our economic growth rates—last year, both Russia and Indonesia ranked among the G20 leaders."
He highlighted prospects for cooperation in port infrastructure development and praised the work on the Free Trade Agreement between the EAEU and Indonesia, which covers more than 90% of trade turnover:
"Today's priority is transitioning from traditional trade formats to industrial cooperation and digital financial instruments. This fully aligns with Russia's policy of enhancing foreign economic relations."
Mr. Manturov concluded by stating that Indonesia is "undoubtedly among Russia’s priority partners."
Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs of Indonesia, outlined the key areas for successful bilateral cooperation:
"This includes collaboration in the pharmaceutical sector, renewable energy, the nuclear industry, and it is equally important to establish cooperation in the financial sector—specifically, the issue of payment mechanisms between the central banks of Russia and Indonesia, which has already been raised during high-level meetings. In addition, efforts are actively underway to organize direct flights between our countries."
Anindya Bakrie, Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, emphasized the importance of jointly building the economy of the future, particularly in light of geopolitical instability, climate challenges, and technological gaps:
"Sessions like this allow us to develop sustainable models of cooperation."
He also drew attention to the potential for active collaboration in the labor market:
"With Indonesia's high birth rate, we need to create around three million new jobs annually, while the Russian economy currently requires a significant workforce."
Andrey Nikipelov, Deputy Director General at Rosatom, spoke on the prospects for Russia-Indonesia cooperation in the nuclear energy sector. He recalled that dialogue on this topic is already underway, with a meeting held in Jakarta in April this year.
Indonesia has set the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, and according to Mr. Nikipelov, nuclear energy is ideally suited to this objective:
"It is environmentally friendly, stable, and reliable."
Rosatom has provided the Indonesian side with a conceptual proposal for the potential placement of nuclear energy facilities, as well as a roadmap for cooperation:
"We have analyzed Indonesia's energy system, identified potential sites, and submitted all the information—now we await decisions on the path forward."
Boris Titov, Special Representative of the President of Russia for Relations with International Organizations on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emphasized the active cooperation between Russia and Indonesia in advancing the SDGs. Together with international partners, Russia is initiating a special UN session to discuss a new global development agenda beyond 2030, given the ineffectiveness of the current SDG program.
At the same time, both Russia and Indonesia demonstrate high levels of SDG implementation—63% and over 50%, respectively, significantly exceeding the global average of 17%.
Mr. Titov also addressed the issue of payments and financial barriers, highlighting the importance of developing "tokenized" national currencies that can reduce dependence on fiat currencies and create a multilateral payment system:
"Indonesia's participation in this project would be extremely valuable."
Clayton Allen Wenas, President of PT Freeport Indonesia, presented opportunities for cooperation in the mining sector, particularly in copper ore extraction and processing. He emphasized that Indonesia is among the global leaders in mineral reserves and demonstrates stable economic growth, making the country reliable and attractive for investment.
Dmitry Konyaev, CEO of Uralchem, pointed out that Indonesia is a leading global producer of palm oil, and it is a crop critically dependent on potassium fertilizers, yet Indonesia lacks domestic potash deposits:
"Previously, we supplied up to 25% of Indonesia's potash imports, but due to geopolitical factors, our market share has fallen to 10% since 2022. We are actively cooperating with Indonesian state-owned enterprises, developing agronomic services, and working with plantations to promote sustainable agriculture. We support the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with the EAEU and hope this will give new momentum to expanding cooperation."
Roman Sklyar, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, emphasized that the Free Trade Agreement between the EAEU and Indonesia opens new opportunities, but excessive competition among EAEU countries should be avoided:
"There are still many unoccupied niches in the market, and it is crucial that we complement one another rather than compete for the same positions."
Concluding the session, Alexander Shokhin reminded participants that the EAEU operates a mechanism to support industrial cooperation, requiring participation from at least three member states. He proposed that governments explore the possibility of including partner countries with which free trade agreements have been signed in this cooperation mechanism.