The Federation Council and the Regional Representative Council of the People’s Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko held a meeting with Speaker of the Regional Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia Sultan Baktiar Najamudin.
Valentina Matvienko noted that Indonesia – the largest Muslim country by population and a leading member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — is Russia’s key partner in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We are committed to the progressive development of relations with Indonesia across all spheres. At the parliamentary level, we have the opportunity to discuss how we will implement the agreements reached between the leaders of our states,” the Speaker of the Federation Council stated.
She underscored the importance of continuing constructive engagement on multilateral platforms, including BRICS, the G20, and within the Russia–ASEAN Dialogue Partnership.
In Valentina Matvienko’s view, the forthcoming Russia–ASEAN Summit in Kazan on 18 June will contribute to strengthening strategic interaction between the two countries.
Sultan Baktiar Najamudin noted the strong ties between the Federation Council and the Regional Representative Council of the People’s Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia.
According to him, Russia and Indonesia must move towards each other in order to build cooperative relations and ensure global security.
Valentina Matvienko recalled that the Federation Council maintains an active cooperation group with the Regional Representative Council of Indonesia. “We hope that a friendship group with the Federation Council will also be established in the Regional Representative Council in the near future. This constitutes a concrete mechanism for expanding our interaction.”
“The priority task remains the realisation of the considerable economic potential of bilateral ties,” the Speaker of the Federation Council emphasised.
In this context, Valentina Matvienko and Sultan Baktiar Najamudin discussed a broad range of issues relating to food security and cooperation in the energy and shipbuilding sectors.
“We anticipate a significant expansion of trade ties once the free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Indonesia, signed late last year, enters into force,” the Speaker of the Federation Council said. She underscored that Russian parliament members are keeping the ratification of this agreement under special scrutiny.
During the conversation, Valentina Matvienko and Sultan Baktiar Najamudin focused on improving the bilateral legal and contractual framework and establishing direct contacts between Russian regions and Indonesian provinces.
The interaction between Russian and Indonesian lawmakers in international organisations, in particular the Inter-Parliamentary Union, was also discussed. “One of our priorities is the establishment of the BRICS+ geopolitical group. We have received official consent from nine states participating in BRICS, including Indonesia, and a substantial number of responses from other interested countries,” Valentina Matvienko said.
Education, the mobility of scholars and students, the mutual study of the Russian and Indonesian languages, and the expansion of tourist exchanges were also addressed.
The Federation Council Speaker invited Indonesian colleagues to take part in the 5th Eurasian Women’s Forum, to be held in St Petersburg in 2027.
A signing ceremony was held for the Memorandum of Understanding between the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the Regional Representative Council of the People’s Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia.
The Speaker of the Federation Council expressed confidence that this instrument will open up new opportunities and create favourable conditions for strengthening and further developing interparliamentary ties.
The event was attended by Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture and Head of the Federation Council’s cooperation group with the Regional Representative Council of the People’s Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia Lilia Gumerova, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on the Rules of Procedure and Parliamentary Governance Vyacheslav Timchenko, and senators of the Russian Federation Iliyas Umakhanov, Alexander Shenderyuk-Zhidkov, Denis Gusev, Artur Kohoyev, and Zhanna Chefranova.