Description: On the margins of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto as the presidents announced the strengthening of bilateral strategic ties. Putin embraced Indonesia’s inclusion into the BRICS bloc of countries as he praised the country’s leveled stance on the war in Ukraine. Executives from Indonesia’s sovereign investment fund Danatara and Russia’s Direct Investment Fund signed a cooperation agreement worth $2 billion, with the presidents further stating the countries would devise close cooperation in several sectors such as trade, energy, nuclear power, space and security.
Impact: Prabowo since assuming the presidency has substantially diversified Indonesia’s strategic alliance portfolio maintaining close ties with the US and its regional allies such as Australia, while courting ties with adversarial countries to the Global West such as Russia and China. Russia’s ambitions to approach countries from the so – called Global South is in line with Putin’s intentions to avoid global strategic isolation caused by the war in Ukraine and ensure strategic and economic continuity. Indonesia has become a significant and influential player in the Indo – Pacific with its growing economy and vast geostrategic potential having direct seaborne access to key maritime trade routes. The country’s multifold strategic alliances make it an unpredictable actor in the Indo – Pacific in times of growing tensions and enlarged Chinese presence and influence. Russia’s involvement in Southeast Asia signals the growing need of financial injections to its ailing wartime economy while ensuring continuance of influence in line with the BRICS strategic doctrine.