Indonesian Defence Minister receives Russian Ambassador to strengthen defence cooperation

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Minister of Defence, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, received a visit from the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Indonesia, Sergei Gennadievich Tolchenov, at the Ministry of Defence building in Jakarta on Wednesday (2/9).

According to a written statement in a post cited by ANTARA on Thursday, the meeting was held to strengthen diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Russia.

“The meeting discussed the development of Indonesia-Russia bilateral relations as well as concrete steps to further strengthen defence cooperation between the two countries,” Sjameuddin stated via his official Instagram account.

He explained that the ministry discussed various types of military cooperation to be established between Indonesia and Russia, such as soldier exchanges, joint exercises, special forces personnel training, and military medicine.

However, Sjafrie did not provide specific details regarding when these joint activities would take place or the technical implementation of the programmes.

Nevertheless, he expressed optimism that the various areas of defence cooperation would proceed well, noting that Indonesia and Russia share a long history of good relations.

“Indonesia views Russia as an important partner in building defence cooperation based on the principles of mutual respect, mutual trust, shared interests, and respect for the sovereignty of each nation,” said Sjafrie.