Jakarta. Indonesia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) would likely ink their bilateral trade pact no later than 2025, a Russian diplomat said on Tuesday.

The EAEU brings together Russia and four other post-Soviet states, namely Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan. Indonesia and the EAEU have been trying to strike a free trade agreement as a means to boost economic relations. East Java also hosted the deal’s fifth and final round of the negotiations in July. 

According to Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Sergei Tolchenov, the final document is nearing completion. All that remains is some “homework” that both sides need to work on, but another round of official negotiation is not necessary.

“We still need to coordinate some specific areas of cooperation, but these talks can just be done through working channels and online [meetings]. … We hope that the whole document will be finalized by the end of this year. But when and how [the agreement] will be signed is another question,” Tolchenov told the press at his Jakarta residence.

Tolchenov said that each EAEU member -- as well as Indonesia -- had its own internal procedures to approach this pact before the actual signing could take place. 

“Once everything is okay, we can discuss the signing of this document. And this will be followed by a ratification process. … But let’s be optimistic, we will witness the signing of this very important document if not this year, maybe next year,” Tolchenov said.

Government statistics showed Indonesia-Russia trade went down from almost $3.6 billion in 2022 to $3.3 billion the following year. In the first half of 2024, Indonesia-Russia trade amounted to almost $1.6 billion. But this was slightly lower compared to January-June 2023 during which trade numbers nearly reached $1.7 billion.

But Indonesia’s trade numbers with the other EAEU members are still lackluster. As a case in point, Indonesia-Kyrgyzstan trade stood at only $7.4 million in 2023, while that of Armenia only reached $8.2 million that same year. Trade between Indonesia and Kazakhstan only totaled $344.3 million in 2023.

The Indonesia-EAEU trade deal negotiations began in Dec. 2022 with a two-year deadline. Indonesia reported that its trade with the EAEU hit $3.8 billion in 2023. About $2.7 billion were Indonesian imports from the Eurasian bloc. Indonesia mainly imported coal, fertilizer, and wheat, to name a few.

President-Elect Prabowo Subianto not long ago headed to the Grand Kremlin Palace to meet Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader said at the time he looked forward to the signing of the free trade agreement while adding that it could strengthen bilateral economic ties. If the trade pact really gets signed next year, Prabowo should have already been in office by then.

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