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- Indonesia has joined the vast majority of the world's countries in condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- The ongoing war is having a negative effect on the global economy and disrupting supply chains worldwide.
- Agriculture, IT, and energy are just a few of the areas with potential for partnership between Indonesia and Ukraine.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has a diplomatic boast few world leaders can match. Last year he met both Russian and Ukrainian presidents to explore possible paths to peace. If that sounds like a tough call, it's entirely in line with his ambition to put his country at the "pinnacle of global leadership."
Indonesia has worked hard to build bridges in the interests of global trade and regional stability. It held the presidency of the G20 in 2022 and this year has chairmanship of both the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and MIKTA, a grouping of five nations including Mexico, South Korea, Australia, and Turkey. All of this puts it at the center of international efforts to manage the diplomatic and economic fallout from the conflict. It is fitting that one of the key voices of the developing world and the largest Muslim majority nation on earth should aim to be a bridge-builder and a stabilizing force for countries that value non-aggression and territorial integrity.
President Joko Widodo sees 2023 as another year of diplomacy. One year on from the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 141 countries, including Indonesia, voted at the UN to demand Russia's withdrawal from the whole of Ukraine and an end to the fighting that secures a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace on Ukraine's terms. That followed earlier UN votes, in March and October 2022, when Indonesia voted with the countries — in total 141 and 143 countries respectively — condemning Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"President Joko Widodo visited both Kyiv and Moscow to convey concerns about the devastating impacts of the war and the disruption of shipping on world food security, particularly for developing countries," said Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a professor at the Research Center for Politics, part of the National Research and Innovation Agency, an Indonesian government agency. "Indonesia continues to call for the end of the war."
The Indonesian government is not just enlightened in its efforts to promote a peaceful end to the conflict. It is pragmatic, recognizing that the war is contributing toward a slowdown in the Indonesian economy, especially through the disruption of global supply chains. Food and fertilizer supplies have been particularly hard-hit. President Widodo appreciates that the longer the conflict drags on, the worse its effects not just on developing economies but on the global economy as a whole.
Indonesia offers many opportunities for investment and renewed bilateral trade with Ukraine
Radityo Dharmaputra, a lecturer in the international relations department of Airlangga University in Indonesia, said that this is the moment to take a diplomatic lead in line with the UN vote.
"Indonesia should be organizing a joint position, together with the other, so-called middle powers and remaining members of the G20 like Mexico and Brazil, offering up a peace platform, asking Russia to stop the aggression and organizing peace talks once Russia stops," he said. "This is the task of the middle powers now, and Indonesia can be one of the initiators."
Meanwhile, Indonesia and Ukraine continue to strengthen bilateral relations. In February, a civil society delegation from Kyiv visited Jakarta as part of efforts to promote enhanced trade and economic partnership and an end to the conflict. A senior representative from the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry identified the agriculture, energy, information technology, food processing, and pharmaceutical sectors as ripe for new partnerships and investment given the complementary nature of Ukraine and Indonesia's economies.
But grasping these opportunities will only be possible once Ukraine has regained control over its sovereign territory. As it stands, bilateral trade between Ukraine and Indonesia, which totaled $1.24 billion before the Russian invasion, has slumped by 93% since the war.
The Ukrainian delegation to Jakarta also highlighted Russia's systematic persecution of the 1 million Ukrainian Muslims, and particularly the Crimean Tatars, the indigenous Muslim population of Ukraine, who once made up 95% of Crimea's population. Today the Tatars comprise only 13% of Crimea's population, after hundreds of years of persecution by Russia, including since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
For Indonesia, ongoing hostilities in Ukraine and a weakening global economy mean that its diplomatic activity continues in earnest. In 2022, Indonesia held the presidency of G20, and set out the theme of "Recover Together, Recover Stronger." Despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine causing ongoing food and energy crises incompatible with full recovery, Indonesia hosted a successful summit in which the G20 leaders demanded Russia's "complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine."
Following the G20 Leaders' Declaration, another vote at the UN General Assembly in February 2023 underlined that the only available path to peace is the one supported by Indonesia. 141 countries, including Indonesia, voted in favor of Russia's immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal from Ukraine. Achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine will only be possible if Russia withdraws.
This article was produced by Insider Studios with FCDO.