Indonesia-Russia Discuss Bilateral, International Security Issues

TheIndonesia.id - Indonesia and Russia discussed current political and security issues between the two countries and on a global level and agreed to further commitment on strategic partnership.

Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD met with Russia’s Secretary of Security Council Nikolay Patrushev in Jakarta on Tuesday, December 14, to discuss the most recent issues in security sector.

The meeting, dubbed as a consultation forum, saw the two state representatives discussing collaborative actions that offer mutual benefits as the two states aims to play important roles in regional and global security.

“The mutually beneficial cooperative relationship between the two countries in different sectors, particularly politics, legal, and security, continues to develop. It’s deeply rooted in a strong desire to improve our cooperation and commitment to peace and stability, both in regional and global levels, as stated in the Strategic Partnership Declaration draft," Coordinating Minister Mahfud said.

The declaration wasn’t the only result from Patrushev’s visit as the meeting pushed for bilateral agreements on extradition and visa policy. Furthermore, the three documents are expected to be signed in 2022.

On a larger scale, the two political and security exports also talked about several threats to global stability, including tension between countries, terrorism, drug smuggling, and other forms of transnational crimes.

At the end of their meeting, Mahfud and Patrushev signed a bilateral agreement on international information security.

Previously, on Monday, the Russian top official paid a courtesy call to President Joko Widodo at the presidential palace in Jakarta.

The Cabinet Secretariat reported that Indonesia’s G20 presidency next year was the main focus of discussion during the occasion. Indonesia was hoping for support from Russia to help achieve its main goals during the period of the role.

Besides Patrushev, the United States Secretary Anthony Blinken also visited Indonesia and met with President Widodo and Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi.

Among a number of things, the two countries signed three MoUs on maritime affairs, education, and the Peace Corps Program initiated by the US to boost people-to-people contact. It also saw the extension of MoU on maritime cooperation, valid until 2026, which includes cooperation in maritime security, marine resources, fisheries conservation, and management, as well as maritime safety and navigation.

Discussion about Generalized System of Preference, or GSP, wasn’t missed in the meeting. The facility allows duty exemption for export commodities and is granted by the US government to eligible beneficiary countries. If Indonesia stays on the list, it will definitely trigger an increase in trade activities between the two countries.

"Indonesia has also expressed hope that the US would continue to provide GSP facilities. Investment opportunities in Indonesia are very wide open in the fields of health, digital, and energy transition," Marsudi said on Tuesday.

Blinken was on a visit to Indonesia on December 13-14, as he sought to reinforce the RI-US strategic partnership and the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. He will visit Malaysia and Thailand next in his Southeast Asia tour.