Prospect of Indonesia-Russia Economic Cooperation

Abstract

Indonesian economic interests have always been an integral part of Indonesia's foreign policy. Bilateral economic relations play a strategic role in the growth and development of an economy.

Twelve years ago Indonesia and Russia signed Declaration on the Framework of Friendly and Partnership Relations between the Republic of Indonesia and the Russian Federations in the 21st century. The increase of bilateral trade volume, flow of investment and several bilateral agreements signed between the two countries, can be seen as opportunities as well as challenges for the two countries.

Although trade has been established, the values are still far beyond the potentials that existed. The distance of trade route, the small inquiries for Indonesian products, cost of transportation, system of payment and lack of knowledge and languages on the potential of both Indonesia and Russia, hindered the enhancement of trade relations between Indonesia and Russia.

The hierarchy of Russian foreign policy objective is the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), followed by the West, and only then comes to the Asia Pacific vector of cooperation, including cooperation with Indonesia. Indonesia's Chamber of Commerce should conduct a thorough market research in order to obtain the most extensive information about the demand of the Indonesian export products that have entered the Russian market. That information should contain specific data such as: type of product, volume of import, country of origin, means of distribution, regulations, tariff and non-tariff barriers, and other statistics.