Top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu held talks in Indonesia with President Prabowo Subianto and his defence minister on Tuesday, as Moscow and Jakarta seek to boost defence ties.
Southeast Asia's biggest economy maintains a neutral foreign policy, refusing to take sides in the Ukraine conflict or in the great power competition between the United States and China.
Shoigu, Russia's former defence minister and now secretary of its Security Council, is seen as influential in the decision to send Russian troops into Ukraine in 2022 and is a staunch ally of President Vladimir Putin.
He met Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin for a courtesy call in the capital Jakarta on Tuesday morning, Indonesia's defence ministry said in a statement.
Prabowo then received Shoigu at the presidential palace on Tuesday afternoon, the presidential palace said in a statement.
"This visit marks an important moment in strengthening bilateral relations between Indonesia and Russia, particularly in the fields of security and defence," the statement said.
"They discussed various strategic issues related to bilateral relations and regional security."
The palace said the visit opened up "broader opportunities for future cooperation" with both sides committed to "strengthening their strategic partnership".
Strengthening ties
Recently inaugurated Prabowo has pledged to be bolder on the world stage and visited Moscow in July for talks with Putin.
In November, Indonesia and Russia held their first joint naval drills.
Russia sent three corvette-class warships, a medium tanker ship, a military helicopter, and a tug boat for the drills held in the east of Indonesia's main island Java.
Jakarta has billion-dollar trade ties with Moscow, yet major arms imports have stalled in recent years after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and launched its offensive on Ukraine.
Still, since becoming defence minister in 2019, Prabowo has kept alive a $1.1 billion Russian fighter jet deal agreed a year earlier, despite the reported threat of US sanctions.
