Coordinating Minister AHY Urges Diaspora to Support 8% Economic Growth Target
The Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY), has encouraged the Indonesian diaspora in Russia to take a direct role in supporting the national economic growth target of 8%. These hopes were conveyed by Minister AHY during his meeting with the Indonesian Ambassador to Russia, Jose A.M. Tavares, and the Indonesian diaspora community in Moscow, Russia, on Sunday (31/5). The meeting served as an opening agenda before his attendance at the second Bilateral Consultation with the Chairman of the Russian Maritime Council, Nikolai P. Patrushev.
Minister AHY explained that his working visit to Moscow is a concrete follow-up to the Declaration of Strategic Partnership previously agreed upon by President Prabowo Subianto and President Vladimir Putin on 19 June 2025, which encompasses 18 sectors of strategic cooperation. Addressing the diaspora, AHY detailed several national strategic programmes currently being accelerated by the government. These large-scale projects are seen as providing vast opportunities for collaboration.
The primary sectors outlined by Minister AHY include the construction of the Giant Sea Wall, a coastal protection project for the North Coast (Pantura) of Java with an estimated investment value of US$8 ext{ billion}, and the national housing sector with a target of the 3-Million House Development Programme for the community. Furthermore, he highlighted mass connectivity through the development of inter-island railway networks based on Transit Oriented Development (TOD), regional programmes such as the Indonesian ‘ASRI’ movement for resettling fishing communities, water security strengthening, and the full implementation of the Zero Over Dimension Over Load (Zero ODOL) policy on highways by 2027.
To maximise the economic impact of these projects, AHY requested that Indonesians residing in Russia do not merely act as spectators but serve as distribution partners and real business connectors. Currently, the Indonesian Government is aggressively pushing the export volume of flagship commodities, such as fisheries, coffee, spices, and maritime products, to the Russian market. AHY encouraged the diaspora to consolidate themselves to facilitate market penetration.
“The diaspora is encouraged to form entrepreneurs’ associations that can act as official distributors in major cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg. This step is crucial to overcoming technical field obstacles, such as logistics routes and the availability of cold chain facilities,” said AHY.
Beyond commodity trade, AHY also hopes that the Indonesian diaspora in Russia can bridge the transfer of knowledge, promote investment, and strengthen strategic partnerships in the energy and maritime sectors between Jakarta and Moscow. Minister AHY expressed optimism that Asia holds great potential to become the world’s new growth centre if it can build collective resilience. In his scientific oration, AHY noted that the world is currently facing geopolitical uncertainty, technological rivalry, and increasingly intense global economic competition. The Minister of Infrastructure also emphasised the acceleration of the national railway network development outside Java to support logistics and economic equality. He stressed that the construction of the North Java Giant Sea Wall is urgent to protect 115,000 hectares of paddy fields and an economic potential of Rp6,400 trillion. The government aims to develop and reactivate 14,000 km of railway networks by 2045, with a budget requirement of Rp1,200 trillion, focusing on Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi.