Russian President Due in Indonesia

Nikita Khrushchev is the last Russian leader to have visited Indonesia. The man who was famous for liking the crowd was hailed by almost a hundred thousand people when he arrived at Jakarta airport in February 1960. But he did not act like other high-ranking political visitors -- he openly commented on Indonesia's chaotic economy. He even invited university students "to try Communism".

Trying to revive Communism's slipping popularity in Southeast Asia, the Soviet politician used gifts as a means to gain sympathy. Once Khrushchev had returned home, Sukarno (the Indonesian president at the time) received 250 million US dollars on top of the almost 120 million dollars already given to Indonesia in the form of ships, roads, steel plants and marine institutes.

47 years later, on September 6, the current Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in Indonesia. But this visit will likely have little resemblance with the visit of Nikita Khrushchev.

Closer ties

The Indonesian foreign office spokesman, Desra Percaya, explained the purpose of Putin's visit: "This meeting will follow up on some agreements reached during President Yudhoyono’s visit to Moscow. Some are agreements on environmental investments. This shows that the two countries now have closer ties."

At least seven agreements were reportedly signed in Moscow last December. And there is hope that more such agreements will be reached this time in Jakarta. Safrie Syamsudin, the General Secretary of the Defence Ministry, gave the details of one proposal:

"We’re exploring the potential of trading natural resources for military hardware. This could potentially be an alternative solution that could lessen the government’s financial burden. We need to update our military hardware, but not only do we have a limited state budget, the government also has to manage its foreign debt."

Revival of relationship

During the Sukarno era, which ended in the mid-1960s, Indonesian and Russian relations were quite strong. But they were cut off when the New Order regime, led by Suharto, took power.

Since Suharto's demise in 1998, the efforts to rebuild the Russo-Indonesian relationship have been slow. Especially in comparison to other ASEAN countries, such as Thailand, Vietnam or Malaysia.

But Hariadi Wiryaman, a political analyst, was optimistic about the outcome of Putin's visit:

"Some Russian systems are more compatible with Indonesia," he said. "Russia wishes to develop technologies which are better for Indonesia than a partnership with the West would be. This is why doing business with Russia is more lucrative for Indonesian businessmen, as well as for the government."

Million dollar deals

President Vladimir Putin will arrive in Jakarta with a delegation of Russian officials and businessmen. They are expected to attend a business forum, where at least 500 businesses from both countries will be represented.

According to Russian statistics, in the first quarter of this year, Russian-Indonesian trade amounted to slightly less than 180 million US dollars. The upcoming business forum is also expected to raise that amount.