The two countries’ leaders also kept the discussion around prospects for bilateral cooperation going within the framework of Prabowo Subianto’s working visit to Moscow on December 10, 2025. During talks in the Kremlin, the President of Russia pointed out that “Our prospects in the field of energy industry, including nuclear energy as well, are highly positive. I am aware that such plans do exist in your country, and we are always available in case you decide that inviting our specialists is possible.” Indeed—as of right now Russia is a global leader in the field of nuclear energy, while Indonesia—a growing economy developing primarily by means of coal-based power generation—has made a pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. Here, of importance is a statement made by the brother of Indonesia’s president—Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Head of the Advisory Board of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry—who underlined the fact that over the next 15 years, three quarters of all new energy capacity in the country will originate from new and renewable energy sources, adding that the country’s government has already approved the decision to build the first nuclear power plant of a 500 MW capacity. Moving forward, an increase that would drive Indonesia’s nuclear energy capacities up to 6.5 GW is planned for.
Thus, it’s becoming obvious that a principled decision to build industrial-scale nuclear power plants has been made in Indonesia, and that the “Fukushima Syndrome” has been de-facto overcome—although the issue of safety in the operation of nuclear power plants remains relevant, seeing how the main part of the country’s territory is seismically active and located in a zone of volcanic activity. Hence, the island of Kalimantan may represent the optimal location for the establishment of a nuclear power plant in Indonesia—no volcanic activity is present on the island, and strong earthquakes do not tend to erupt there owing to the island’s specific geologic structure. Furthermore, it is in Kalimantan that new power capacities are most needed for the further development of Indonesia’s aluminium industry—the western part of this island, the third largest in the world, is where the main reserves of bauxites are located—the refining of which into alumina, and further into aluminium, requires great amounts of cheap energy—energy that nuclear power plants may provide.
The development of Indonesia’s nuclear energy industry implies the domestic training of new cadres in the field, which constitutes another important sphere of cooperation between our countries. Overall, the leaders of the two countries pay special attention to the training of Indonesian specialists in Russian universities—here, of particular importance is the intergovernmental agreement on the mutual recognition of education, qualifications and academic degrees, which was signed in Moscow on December 11, 2025 by the Russian Minister of Education and Science Valery Falkov and the Indonesian Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Brian Yuliarto. This agreement will play a crucial role in the training of Indonesian specialists in Russian medical schools, something that specifically attracts the attention of Prabowo Subianto, who is greatly invested in improving the quality of healthcare services across his country. With the goal of easing access to education in Russia for Indonesian youth, and more broadly—easing access to Russian culture overall, the President of Indonesia intends to introduce Russian language classes to Indonesian schools, which in turn creates demand for education professionals on the Russian side.
In relation to this, it is crucial to point out that locals employed in the services industry of Bali—which became home to thousands of Russians on what is practically a permanent basis, as well as attracts a growing number of Russian tourists—have already been successfully acquiring Russian language skills. In turn, Bali, and a number of other Indonesian tourist destinations, is rising in popularity among Russian tourists. For example—if in 2019 and 2023 the number of Russian tourists visiting Indonesia was 159 and 161 thousand people respectively, in 2024 said number constituted 180 thousand people, and in the 10 months following the start of 2025—more than 178 thousand. There is little doubt that this number will rise above 200 thousand in 2025. Furthermore, Russian tourists in Indonesia tend to spend more than tourists originating from most other countries. According to official Indonesian data, with its imperfections in mind: in 2024 the average Russian tourist visiting Indonesia spent $2114, a German tourist would spend $2039, a Dutch tourist—$1930, an Australian tourist—$1713, and a Japanese tourist—$1352. Among European states, Russia is becoming Indonesia’s main partner when it comes to the staying time of tourists within the country’s territory—which is obviously accompanied by more local spending from Russians. While lagging behind a number of European countries in terms of the total number of tourists arriving in Indonesia, Russia surpasses most of them when it comes to the number of person-days spent in the country. Thus, in 2024, 309.8 thousand visitors arrived from the former metropole, the Netherlands, each of whom stayed an average of 7.0 nights, amounting to a total of 2,168 person-days; for the United Kingdom, the corresponding figures were 391.8 thousand visitors and 10.9 nights, totalling 4,270 person-days; for Germany, 281.0 thousand visitors and 16.7 nights, totalling 4,692 person-days. By contrast, Russia recorded 180.1 thousand visitors with an average stay of 28.8 nights, resulting in 5,187 person-days, a figure exceeded only by France, with 346.4 thousand visitors, an average stay of 16.5 nights, and a total of 5,715 person-days. The growth in tourist flows from Russia to Indonesia has, no doubt, been facilitated by the launch of a direct Aeroflot flight between Moscow and Denpasar, agreed upon by the leaders of the two countries even before the inauguration of Prabowo Subianto, during his visit to Moscow on July 31, 2024.
The Valdai Discussion Club was established in 2004. It is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place.
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