JAKARTA: Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto said he wants to develop nuclear energy cooperation with Russia during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, while on his first official trip to Moscow since winning the general vote.
Subianto, who is still serving as Indonesia’s defense minister before he takes over the presidency from Joko Widodo in October, met with Putin at the Kremlin on Wednesday.
His visit to Moscow comes after a series of international trips — including to China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — following his landslide victory in the presidential election in February.
“We consider Russia as a great friend … I come here to emphasize that I would like to enhance this relationship when I officially take over the presidency of the Republic of Indonesia,” Subianto said during a broadcast from the meeting.
“We are open for more Russian participation in our economy. In the field of nuclear energy, we have discussed with your institutions, with Rosatom, the possibility of cooperating in the field, even the small modular reactors and also the main reactors.”
Indonesia has been working to develop its nuclear power, as a part of the country’s renewable energy mix plan, and efforts to reach net-zero emissions by 2060.
In June, the country’s coordinating minister for economic affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, also pushed for nuclear energy collaboration during his visit to Moscow, citing it as an environmentally-friendly alternative.
Russia generates about 20 percent of its power from nuclear energy, though natural gas still supplies most of its electricity. Indonesia, on the other hand, relies heavily on coal to fulfill its domestic energy demand, and does not have any nuclear power plants. The Southeast Asian nation currently has three nuclear reactors used for research.
Subianto also discussed cooperation in food security, tourism and education during his meeting with Putin, who said his country was keen on furthering ties with Indonesia.
“The Indonesian market, a country with almost 300 million people, is also of great interest to Russia,” Putin told Subianto.
“We are ready to continue to increase the supply of agricultural products, carry out investment projects in the field of energy, transport and infrastructure.”
