RI Collaborates With The Republic Of Belarus To Open Access To The Industrial Product Market

Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Maxim Vladimirovich Ryzhenkov. Photo: Doc. Ministry of Industry

JAKARTA - The Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of Belarus agreed to strengthen partnerships in the industrial sector through various strategic initiatives.

Previously, on July 15, 2025, President Prabowo Subianto had a bilateral meeting with the President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk, to discuss a number of issues in various sectors, such as trade, industry and meeting strategic needs.

Following up on the discussion of the two Heads of State, Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita held a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Maxim Vladimirovich Ryzhenkov.

This meeting became an important momentum to strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and Belarus, especially in the industrial sector.

"So, this is a fresh thing for strengthening relations between Indonesia and Belarus," Agus said as quoted from his official statement, Thursday, August 7.

According to Agus, Belarus is part of the Eurasian region which is currently being explored intensively by Indonesia to cooperate through a free trade agreement with Eurationan Economic Union (IEAEU) member countries.

"The signing of this agreement will open wider market access for Indonesian products. We see the potential of Eurasian countries to be strong enough and our products have a great opportunity to fill the market," he said.

As one of the important countries in the Eurasian region, Agus continued, Belarus plays an important role in helping accelerate the signing of the cooperation, so as to strengthen economic relations, including trade relations with Indonesia.

Although the trade value between Indonesia and Belarus is still relatively small, he is optimistic that there is a large growth space.

Agus assessed that Indonesia has not yet become Belarus' main trading partner, so a market diversification strategy is needed to strengthen the expansion of national products to the region.

"I think the trading target between Indonesia and Belarus, if we set it in 2-3 years, it could increase five times, that's not an exaggeration," said Agus.

During the meeting, both parties also discussed the potential for the establishment of joint ventures in strategic sectors, including automotive and component, agricultural heavy equipment and machinery, the metallurgical industry, the development of industrial estates and industrial ecosystems 4.0 as well as agro-based industries, such as palm oil products, rubber and biofuels.

The Minister of Industry emphasized that the government is ready to facilitate cooperation between Indonesian and Belarusian industry players in Business to Business (B2B) format.

"We have also agreed that a joint economic commitment will be formed between Indonesia and Belarus. This committee will be under the umbrella of joint economic cooperation called sub-manufacturing, sub-joint commitment on industry. We will develop that later," he said.

As a follow-up, the Ministry of Industry will send a delegation led by the Director General of Resilience, Regional Affairs and International Industrial Access (KPAII) Tri Supondy to Minsk, Belarus, to formulate a cooperation agreement document between the two ministries.

Furthermore, Agus assessed that the cooperation has promising prospects, considering that the majority of manufacturing companies in Belarus are state-owned companies, so that the negotiation process can be further facilitated through inter-governmental approaches.

"We are optimistic that through the implementation of this structured and mutually beneficial cooperation, Indonesia and Belarus can realize a strong, inclusive and sustainable industrial partnership," he concluded.