Russia’s Putin offers investment in new Indonesian capital
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo investment in the country’s planned new capital, Bloomberg News cited a statement by the Russian embassy in Jakarta.
Widodo, who was on a trip to both Ukraine and Russia on June 29 and 30, was told by the Russian president that there was an option that state-owned Russian Railways could invest in Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara to build transport and logistics infrastructure.
Putin said Moscow could also take part otherwise in Widodo’s plan to move Indonesia’s capital to East Kalimantan on Borneo island from Jakarta. He made the comments during Jokowi’s visit to Moscow on June 30.
Warming ties between the countries
The offer is widely seen as a sign of warming ties between Russia and Southeast Asia’s biggest economy as the US and its allies seek to isolate Russia from the world economy as a result of its invasion of Ukraine in February this year.
Nusantara, as Indonesia’s new capital will be called, is set to begin construction in August after the Covid-19 pandemic stalled its development for quite some time. Among potential investors are Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group to help build a sustainable city in the midst of Borneo’s rainforest from scratch.
Another potential investor, Japan’s Softbank Group, has withdrawn from the project.
Investment in nuclear energy in Indonesia
Apart from infrastructure projects, Russian energy companies are also keen to operate in other areas in Indonesia, especially in developing nuclear power, given the fact that atomic energy is a key part of the country’s net-zero emissions plan.
Indonesia has come under pressure by the US and other countries to prevent Putin from joining this year’s Group of 20 summit, which is set to take place in Bali in mid-November. The Kremlin said on June 27 that Russia’s leader will indeed attend the meeting, heralding a potentially dramatic first meeting between Putin and his critics from 19 countries, including the US, and the European Union.
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo investment in the country’s planned new capital, Bloomberg News cited a statement by the Russian embassy in Jakarta. Widodo, who was on a trip to both Ukraine and Russia on June 29 and 30, was told by the Russian president that there was an option that state-owned Russian Railways could invest in Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara to build transport and logistics infrastructure. Putin said Moscow could also take part otherwise in Widodo’s plan to move Indonesia’s capital to East Kalimantan on Borneo island from Jakarta. He made the comments during...
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo investment in the country’s planned new capital, Bloomberg News cited a statement by the Russian embassy in Jakarta.
Widodo, who was on a trip to both Ukraine and Russia on June 29 and 30, was told by the Russian president that there was an option that state-owned Russian Railways could invest in Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara to build transport and logistics infrastructure.
Putin said Moscow could also take part otherwise in Widodo’s plan to move Indonesia’s capital to East Kalimantan on Borneo island from Jakarta. He made the comments during Jokowi’s visit to Moscow on June 30.
Warming ties between the countries
The offer is widely seen as a sign of warming ties between Russia and Southeast Asia’s biggest economy as the US and its allies seek to isolate Russia from the world economy as a result of its invasion of Ukraine in February this year.
Nusantara, as Indonesia’s new capital will be called, is set to begin construction in August after the Covid-19 pandemic stalled its development for quite some time. Among potential investors are Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group to help build a sustainable city in the midst of Borneo’s rainforest from scratch.
Another potential investor, Japan’s Softbank Group, has withdrawn from the project.
Investment in nuclear energy in Indonesia
Apart from infrastructure projects, Russian energy companies are also keen to operate in other areas in Indonesia, especially in developing nuclear power, given the fact that atomic energy is a key part of the country’s net-zero emissions plan.
Indonesia has come under pressure by the US and other countries to prevent Putin from joining this year’s Group of 20 summit, which is set to take place in Bali in mid-November. The Kremlin said on June 27 that Russia’s leader will indeed attend the meeting, heralding a potentially dramatic first meeting between Putin and his critics from 19 countries, including the US, and the European Union.
