Indonesia Asks Russia to Develop Civilian Nuclear Power Industry

During the summit in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indonesian President-elect and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto asked the Kremlin leader to help the Southeast Asian country equip itself with a modern and efficient nuclear power plant system to ensure Indonesia’s energy security. “We are open to greater Russian participation in our economy,” the Indonesian president also said.

Before he was received by Putin, Prabowo Subianto held a series of “intensive talks” in Moscow with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, and the country’s military leaders.

“In the field of nuclear energy, we discussed with your institutions, with the state agency Rosatom, the possibility of active cooperation in this very important sector for the future of Indonesia,” emphasized Prabowo Subianto, according to whom “the talks focused on the possibility of building in Indonesia both large nuclear power plants and small ones equipped with modular reactors, which would help the Asian country to provide electricity to the most remote areas of its vast island territory with an area of about 2 million square kilometers.”

In response to the Indonesian President’s request, Putin said that “Russia is ready to implement even the most significant investment projects in Indonesia, not only in the field of energy, but also in transportation and infrastructure.”

The two leaders also discussed military and military-technical cooperation between the two partner countries. “In recent months, we have had quite intensive talks with representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry, during which a roadmap has been drawn up for many years to come,” said Prabowo Subianto, adding that the Russian defense industry has been invited to participate in an international military-technical showcase to be held in Indonesia in November.

Russia’s military operation in Ukraine has significantly increased the interest of many countries of the world, especially those in the Global South, in Russian military equipment, which on the battlefield has repeatedly demonstrated its superiority compared to similar Western-made models.