Prabowo's Visit to Russia: Analyst Says Indonesia Takes on "Bridge Builder" Role

Jakarta - An international relations expert and lecturer from Universitas Airlangga, Probo Darono Yakti, assesses that Indonesia is taking on the role of a bridge builder in response to President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Russia and France. “Here, Indonesia’s role is to emphasise becoming a bridge builder,” Probo stated when contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Tuesday. He views Indonesia’s position in the series of presidential visits as that of an active mediator in maintaining communication between the Western bloc and non-Western actors. “The choice to visit Russia first, followed by France, both represent the post-Cold War order, where Russia is close to non-Western actors, and France is pro-operational within the Western orbit in the context of the UN Security Council and its strategic position in NATO,” he said. The active role of the state, he added, involves managing various differing interests to reduce tensions and create space for dialogue between opposing blocs or actors. “So, this could be linked to Indonesia’s role in emphasising several aspects, including our efforts to mediate, facilitate, and orchestrate interactions between opposing parties,” he stated. Probo described this step as balancing, following Indonesia’s inclusion in the Board of Peace (BoP) with diplomacy supporting a two-state solution. “So, regardless of Indonesia’s entry into the Board of Peace previously, to balance it, this diplomacy is conducted— if I may call it a kind of back-and-forth to approach key actors in international relations,” he explained. Previously, President Prabowo arrived in Paris, France, on Monday (13/4) night at 23.50 local time, after completing his state agenda in Moscow, including a five-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, who accompanied the President in Paris, said President Prabowo is scheduled to hold a one-on-one meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace on Tuesday. In the five-hour meeting in Moscow, the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in strategic fields, including energy and mineral resources (ESDM) and downstream processing. Besides the energy sector, Teddy continued, the two countries also reaffirmed their commitments to continue and expand cooperation in various other fields believed to have a direct impact on national development.