Two-Day Visit to Russia, President Orders Bahlil to Meet Putin's Envoy

JAKARTA - Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said President Prabowo Subianto immediately assigned Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia to discuss energy cooperation with Russia after a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

Teddy said the new president had just arrived from a short two-day visit to Russia and France, two countries he said had veto power.

"The President has just arrived from a short two-day visit to two superpower countries, veto-holding countries, namely meeting with the Russian President, then the French President," Teddy told reporters at the Presidential Palace complex, Jakarta, Thursday, April 16.

According to Teddy, one of the important results of the visit came from President Prabowo's meeting with President Putin. The focus of the discussion, said Teddy, was on strengthening long-term energy cooperation.

"In Russia there is a meeting with President Putin, the point is to increase cooperation in the long-term energy sector," he said.

Teddy said the President then gave a special assignment to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia to meet with President Putin's special envoy and the Russian Energy Minister. The assignment was a direct follow-up to the talks at the level of heads of state.

"The President has assigned the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources to meet with President Putin's special envoy and also the Minister of Energy from Russia," said the Presidential Secretariat, Teddy.

He said the results of the follow-up meeting had been reported to the President upon his arrival in Jakarta. However, Teddy did not go into details about the discussion and left it to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources.

"Well then we moved to France, then he held a meeting with President Putin's special envoy and ministers, and the result he reported to the President just now," said Teddy.