JAKARTA: Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto will depart for Russia on Sunday (Apr 12) for talks with counterpart Vladimir Putin on oil, Prabowo’s office said.
The presidency in Jakarta confirmed to AFP that Prabowo would leave on Sunday evening.
Foreign Minister Sugiono said on Saturday that oil, which is “of strategic importance for the Indonesian nation”, would be on the agenda.
“He will meet with President Putin and will also discuss global geopolitics and, certainly, the energy situation,” said Sugiono, who like many Indonesians has only one name.
Prabowo, who recently travelled to South Korea and Japan, has defended his foreign travels.
“Brothers and sisters, it’s to secure oil, I have to go everywhere,” he said in an address to his cabinet last week.
Like many nations, Indonesia has come under pressure from soaring global oil prices over the war in the Middle East.
Southeast Asia’s largest economy, where fuel is heavily subsidised, is an oil producer but nevertheless a net importer.
Last month, Prabowo’s government announced fuel rationing and mandated a day-per-week work-from-home policy for civil servants to conserve energy stocks.
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