Jokowi to visit Russia in May to further bilateral economic cooperation

[Nike]

Jokowi to visit Russia
in May to further bilateral
economic cooperation
Marguerite Afra Sapiie, thejakartapost.com, Jakarta | National | Sat, January 09 2016, 1:05 PM

Invitation extended: President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo welcomes Russian Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov (left) when the latter visited the State Palace in Jakarta on Friday. During their meeting they discussed the efforts of both countries to improve their economic cooperation and the planned Jokowi's visit to Russia in May. (Antara/Yudhi Mahatma)


President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will undertake an official state visit to Russia in an effort to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries, Russian Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov said.

The visit will be made in late May when President Jokowi attends the ASEAN-Russia Summit, Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi confirmed.

"President Jokowi has accepted the invitation from our president. We really look forward to his visit to Russia," Manturov told journalists on Friday.

The Russian government would prepare some documents to be signed during Jokowi's visit, possibly a memorandum of understanding to follow up on the bilateral cooperation agreements reached by the two countries, Manturov said.

Manturov delivered the invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Jakarta on Friday, when the Russian delegation met with Indonesian ministers to discuss economic cooperation, investment in particular.

In the spotlight was the US$2.5 billion Russia has invested in railway construction in Kalimantan, a long-awaited plan that has been in the works since 2011.

Manturov confirmed that the Russian government had already divided the five-year project, named Borneo Railways, into four construction phases and had set up subsidiaries to handle them.

According to Manturov, Russia also wished to establish industrial cooperation with state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) to produce several MC-21 plane parts in Indonesia, which in the long run was aimed at producing 20 to 100 planes in 10 years.

"It's a win-win solution. This will give motivation to Indonesia and guarantee alternative supplies to Russia, which today is still buying from Western companies," said Manturov.

He added that Russia would be ready to cooperate with Indonesia in other areas, such as in nuclear energy plants and gas turbine energy, as well as by supplying oil from Russian oil companies to Indonesia, adding that Russia was also looking for reliable Indonesian partners to participate in Russian projects.

"We are absolutely open. It depends on the Indonesia partners and this relies on the [Indonesian] government, too," Manturov said. (bbn)

- See more at: Jokowi to visit Russia in May to further bilateral economic cooperation | The Jakarta Post

 

[Nike]

Indonesia, Russia to pool
economic resources
Ina Parlina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Sat, January 09 2016, 5:24 PM

Russia and Indonesia have expressed their intention to boost economic ties, with Moscow proposing investments in various infrastructure projects and smelting facilities in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

The remarks were made during a meeting between President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov on Friday at the State Palace.

“During the meeting, Indonesia [...] asked Russia to remove its non-tariff barrier for Indonesia’s CPO [crude palm oil] and fisheries commodities,” Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi told reporters after the meeting.

Jakarta reportedly also asked Russia to exempt Indonesians visiting Russia from visa requirements, following Indonesia’s implementation of a visa-free facility for Russian tourists, who represent one of the biggest groups of foreign arrivals to the country.

According to Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution, Manturov said Moscow would discuss Indonesia’s request on CPO.

Russia is the 27th-largest foreign spender in Indonesia, with the bulk of investment going to hotels and restaurants, according to data from the Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, bilateral trade has surged in recent years, up by 45.1 percent on average to US$3.52 billion last year from 2009, according to statistics from the Trade Ministry.

During the meeting, Manturov asked Indonesia to address a number of challenges hampering his country’s investment in Indonesia.

“Russia asked for our attention in terms of the ease of doing business related to their ongoing investment and that being planned, including a railway construction project in Central Kalimantan and East Kalimantan,” Darmin said, adding that Russia also mentioned problems related to tax.

Manturov expressed Russia’s intention to invest in West Kalimantan to build an alumina smelting facility in the region amid ongoing bidding for the project, and another smelting facility for ferronickel.

“We told them to fight for the tender,” Darmin said.

Russian proposals for investment arose following Indonesia’s move to ban shipments of unprocessed mineral ores in a bid to spur growth in the country’s downstream mining industry and add value to its exports. Miners are now required to build local refineries and smelters in order to be able to export, as stipulated in the 2009 Mining Law.

Growing interest from foreign companies indicates that Indonesia remains one of the world’s major investment destinations despite the economic slowdown.

During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Beijing in late 2014, Jokowi sought Russian investment in energy, power plants and railway construction, as well as irrigation, food and manufacturing facilities. Putin has expressed optimism that there could be more room for future economic cooperation with Indonesia.

Russia also proposed cooperation in the civil aviation sector and shipyards during the Friday meeting.

The country is a cooperative partner for Indonesia in the fields of aviation, air transportation and nuclear energy, with plans to maintain and increase its aircraft exports to Indonesia.

The Yaroslav Mudry frigate visited Indonesia in 2014 as part of the Indo Defense Expo.

Retno said, meanwhile, that the meeting did not touch on global politics amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East, but merely highlighted the good ties between Indonesia and Russia.

“We [Indonesia and Russia] want to improve economic cooperation,” Retno added.

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- See more at: Indonesia, Russia to pool economic resources | The Jakarta Post

 

[Atlanticore]

Its good to know that Indonesia is picking Allies from their region. I hope Indonesia wouldn't let USA use them to counter Russia and China.