Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Constantine Palace near St Petersburg on June 19, marking the start of Subianto’s first official visit to Russia since taking office in late 2024.

Subianto is the guest of honour at this year’s St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia’ premier investment forum, and his presence is blow to Western efforts to build an international coalition to isolate Russia following its invasion of Ukraine over three year ago.

Poignantly, Subianto’s predecessor, Joko Widodo, was invited to the G7 summit in 2022 as the Western nations wooed the G20 most powerful emerging countries, in a bid to cut Russia off from potential allies. Russia has important trade relations with Indonesia which is, after China, one the biggest and most powerful nations in SE Asia. Putin’s big bet is on the Global South Century that he hopes will replace Russia’s formally tie trade ties with Europe and make sanctions irrelevant.

Indonesia bid to join the BRICS+ group of emerging nations in 2023 but put its potential membership on pause as Jakarta waited to see how the global East-West clash developed. Subianto’s presence in St Petersburg with Putin suggests that the Muslim nation is now coming down on the side of the Sino-Russian alliance that is teaming up with the Global South in the confrontation with the US-led Western powers.

Indonesia official joined the BRICS+ this January bring the total membership to ten. It appears that the Global South have been shocked by the West’s support for Israel’s unrestrained attacks on Gaza that has killed over 50,000 people, two thirds of them women and children, and its blatant double standards when it comes to the rhetoric of values and human rights. The situation has only been made worse with the advent of US President Donald Trump and his Liberation Day tariff war on the rest of the world. Emerging Markets have been particularly hard hit by the tariffs as many of them manufacture cheaply for US companies and consequently run big trade deficits with the US that means they were hit with higher tariffs under Trump’s nonsensical tariff equation.

Subianto is scheduled to address the plenary session of SPEIF on June 20. Putin described him as the “main guest” of this year’s forum.

The 73-year-old Indonesian president arrived at the venue in a Russian-made Aurus vehicle, Vedomosti reported. Opening the talks, Putin said Russia and Indonesia were cooperating across a range of sectors, including agriculture and space. He also highlighted the potential for future collaboration in military-technical fields.

“We have prospects for developing military-technical cooperation,” Putin stated, adding that Indonesia’s accession to BRICS in January 2025 positioned it as a key contributor to the bloc’s development. “I am confident that Indonesia… will make a significant contribution to the development of the club,” he said.

Subianto said bilateral ties were progressing actively and placed emphasis on economic integration. “We are paying great attention to the agreement on a free trade zone with the EEU,” he said, referring to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). The agreement, under negotiation since 2022, is expected to be signed in 2025.

This is Subianto’s sixth visit to Russia, but his first as head of state of Indonesia, a nation of 290 million. He last visited Moscow in mid-2024 as Minister of Defence, shortly after his election win and prior to his inauguration. During that trip, the two sides agreed that Indonesian naval vessels would join the Russian Navy Day parade in St Petersburg, scheduled for July 27.

Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Sergei Tolchenov earlier noted that Jakarta is considering launching citizens into space and expanding its satellite network with Russian support.

Bilateral trade reached $4.3bn in 2024, an increase of $300mn from the previous year, while approximately 180,000 Russian tourists visited Indonesia in the same period.

According to presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the leaders first held talks in a narrow format, attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, followed by expanded discussions over an official breakfast. The negotiations are expected to conclude with the signing of a declaration on strategic partnership, TASS reported on June 19.

Later in the day, Putin is scheduled to meet South African Vice President Paul Mashatile, who, like Subianto, will speak at the SPIEF plenary session on June 20.