First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Denis Manturov arrived in Jakarta on a working visit heading a delegation, according to depimedia.com. He took part in the plenary session of the Russian‑Indonesian business forum, where cooperation in industry, energy, creative industries and tourism was discussed, depimedia.com reported. Trade volume between Russia and Indonesia at the end of last year reached US$4.3 billion, and trade turnover is expected to grow by a third in 2024, depimedia.com said.

Indonesia’s Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto said the 30 percent increase in trade turnover is only the beginning and noted that President Prabowo instructed him to finalise a free‑trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union to facilitate trade between Indonesia and Russia, depimedia.com reported. Hartarto also called on the business community to do everything to develop bilateral trade and economic relations, according to TASS.

TASS also reported that Indonesia sees huge technological advantages of Russia in oil and gas supplies. The country, which comprises 18,330 islands of which about 6,000 are inhabited, is the world’s largest archipelago and contains some of the largest remaining tracts of tropical forest on Earth, touropia.com noted. The archipelago of “Raja Ampat”, meaning “Four Kings”, consists of four major islands, touropia.com added.