Sputnik Round Table Discusses Opening of Sukarno Monument in Moscow

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Sputnik International News Media hosted a roundtable discussion "Russia-Indonesia: Experience and Prospects of Cooperation".

During the meeting, Russian and Indonesian experts discussed the most promising areas of cooperation between the two countries, as well as the role of cultural and humanitarian exchange in the development of business partnership between Moscow and Jakarta.

Alexander Popov, senior researcher of the Center for the Study of Southeast Asia, Australia and Oceania at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Nikita Kuklin, expert of the ASEAN Center at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, spoke at the press center in Moscow.

From Indonesia, Irfan Junaidi, news director of Indonesia's main news agency Antara, Machia Astuti Dewi, dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at the Veteran University of National Development (Yogyakarta), and Raudi Gatmir, head of the Department of Communications at the President University of Indonesia, joined the discussion online.

Alexander Popov, senior researcher of the Center for the Study of Southeast Asia, Australia and Oceania at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

© Sputnik . Maria Devakhina

Alexander Popov emphasized in his speech that Russia and Indonesia have great potential for cooperation in investment, trade, economic and scientific-technological spheres. Popov also welcomed the project of opening a monument to Indonesia's first president Sukarno in Moscow. He pointed out the role of patrons and entrepreneurs in the project: “Of course, we are very much looking forward to the opening of this monument, and I would also like to note that the current cultural exchange depends to a large extent on the financial opportunities that the participants of this exchange have. And in this case, of course, a lot depends on those patrons, on those entrepreneurs who are ready to spend money on these cultural events not for profit, but for the sake of the idea”.

In his speech, Irfan Junaidi focused on the role of media cooperation in the modern information space, noting that cooperation in the media promotes the rapprochement of cultures and nations, as well as allows bringing international information and business exchange to a fundamentally new level: “We are constantly fighting for mutual understanding, for transparency, for truth. We represent different cultures and different media, but we must realize that we can give our materials a wide coverage through cooperation. And here it is not only a question of quantitative expansion of the audience, but also of qualitative improvement of our work”.

Nikita Kuklin, expert of the ASEAN Center at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations

© Sputnik . Maria Devakhina

Nikita Kuklin presented a brief description of the current Russia-Indonesia relations, emphasizing the interest of the Indonesian side in the Russian experience in the sphere of transport and urban infrastructure, including the use of satellite technologies: “We have opportunities in the sphere of satellite technologies. This is a promising area where we can cooperate with our Indonesian colleagues in the construction of the new capital of Indonesia - the high-tech city of Nusantara”.

Machia Astuti Dewi spoke in detail about the system of educational interaction between Russia and Indonesia, emphasizing cooperation between universities and companies: “It is important not only cooperation between Russian and Indonesian universities, but also connections between universities and authorities, companies and non-governmental organizations. For example, our university actively cooperates with the Sputnik International News Media. Online seminars for students have been organized, the Russian Ambassador to Indonesia also held a special event in Indonesia. I think this is a very important element of our interaction”.

Raudi Gatmir continued the topic of cooperation in the field of education, identifying the specialties in which Russian and Indonesian universities could adopt each other's experience: “Higher education in Russia has been in great demand among Indonesian students. First of all, we are talking about engineering specialties and natural sciences. But it is important that Russia and Indonesia expand their cooperation and deal with social sciences as well: this includes public relations, political sciences, and international relations”.