Putin hosts Indonesia's Prabowo in Russia in bid to deepen ties

ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 19 (Reuters) - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto held talks with President Vladimir Putin in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg on Thursday after which the duo signed a declaration on a strategic partnership between the two nations, the Kremlin said.

The deepening of ties between Russia and Indonesia, part of Moscow's bid to forge new relations with the Global South amid Western attempts to isolate it over its war in Ukraine, has perturbed some powers such as Australia.

Sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia and the Russian Direct Investment Fund also signed an agreement on Thursday to create an investment fund worth 2 billion euros ($2.29 billion).

The agreement was signed by both CEOs and witnessed by Subianto and Putin.

Meeting in the Constantine Palace, Putin noted Indonesia's entry into BRICS as a full member and said he was sure it would make a significant contribution to the grouping, which he said was gaining clout in the world.

Prabowo thanked Putin for his support over Indonesia's entry to BRICS and said that ties between the two countries were improving.

Russia has proposed deepening military, security, trade and nuclear ties with Indonesia, which has the world's fourth largest population.

Prabowo previously visited Russia in August 2024, when he was defence minister and president-elect, and described Moscow as a "great friend", saying he hoped for stronger cooperation on defence, energy and education.

Indonesia has said that it wants to build its first nuclear power plant by 2032, with 500 MW capacity, aiming for it to come online in the next decade. Authorities said interested developers included Russia's Rosatom, China CNNC, and U.S. small modular reactor producer NuScale.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, currently relies mostly on coal as a source of power despite boasting massive potential for renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar and geothermal.

With expectations of high energy demand in the future, Indonesia is seeking to boost power generation capacity while capping its carbon emissions, eyeing nuclear power as the solution.

Prabowo has maintained Indonesia's non-aligned foreign policy, vowing to befriend any country, including Russia and the United States. He has said Indonesia will not be joining any military bloc.

China is Indonesia's largest trading partner, but recently Prabowo's government announced a raft of concessions for trade with the U.S. as it looks to neutralise the effect of tariffs.

Russia has praised what it says is Indonesia's balanced position on the war in Ukraine. Russia and Indonesia conducted their first joint naval exercises in the Java Sea last November.