31 March 2023
On March 31, 2023 MGIMO hosted Indonesia Day jointly organized by the ASEAN Centre and the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Moscow.
A series of events within the framework of the Indonesia Day started with the round table "Russia – Indonesia: the Way Towards a Better Future", during which Indonesian Embassy diplomats, Indonesian experts from the National Resilience Institute of the Republic of Indonesia and leading Russian Indonesianist scholars focused on the key issues of Russian-Indonesian relations. The discussion touched upon the subjects of the two countries’ interaction in the new international context, the prospects for establishing Indonesia-Russia strategic partnership, the possibilities of multi-level cooperation between Russia and the states of the region and the Southeast Asia development dynamics. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Indonesia H.E. Lyudmila Vorobyeva welcomed the conference participants via the pre-recorded message and wished them a productive discussion and expressed her hope for the further progressive development of Russia-Indonesia diplomatic relations. Among the discussants were representatives from the leading Moscow universities and research institutions such as MGIMO, Institute of Asian and African Studies of Moscow State University, People’s Friendship University and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Andrey Baykov, MGIMO Vice-Rector for Science and Research delivered his welcoming remarks to the round table participants and noted that relations between Indonesia and Russia have a long history and have always been distinguished by warmth, mutual respect and recognition of each other’s interests. He emphasized that in the current situation; two countries remain reliable partners and jointly implement many significant initiatives. The Vice-Rector also drew attention to the fact that MGIMO has always been and remains a significant center of Indonesian studies in Russia, acting as an alma mater for many prominent Soviet and Russian students of Indonesia who devoted their professional life to teaching and carrying out Indonesian studies at MGIMO. Moreover, he added that MGIMO continues to teach the Indonesian language and train those professionally specializing in the Indonesian studies.
The Director of the ASEAN Centre Dr. Ekaterina Koldunova emphasized that the Indonesia Day continues the tradition of the “Indonesian studies” events of the Centre, which have been held since its foundation, and thanked the Indonesian Embassy for supporting the idea of holding such an event in MGIMO University.
From the Indonesian side, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to the Russian Federation H.E. Jose Antonio Morato Tavares welcomed the guests of the Indonesia Day. He noted that, despite the ups and downs in the history of bilateral relations, the two nations were able to maintain the spirit of friendship and cooperation, and today our relations are consistently developing in all areas, even amidst geopolitical turmoil. His Excellency also wished to the round table participants a productive discussion and thanked MGIMO University for cooperation.
The round table was followed by the presentation of the book Conceptual Foundations of Indonesia's Foreign Policy by the Expert of the ASEAN Centre Dr. Nikita Kuklin, during which the author and his two discussants – Deputy Chief of Mission of the Republic of Indonesia Mr. Berlian Helmy and Senior Expert of the ASEAN Centre, Director of the ASEAN Centre in 2010-2021 Dr. Victor Sumsky discussed the content of the book, its theoretical and practical basis, as well as the possibilities for developing further research on this topic.
The cultural evening at the end of the Indonesia Day begun with a musical performance by the Russian music group “Gamelan Dadali”, the only representative of Indonesian gamelan art in Russia, and was accompanied by the colorful Indonesian dances by Kirana Nusantara Dance Studio. Young and talented lyric performer from Indonesia Mr. John Silver Soplanit sang to the audience as a special guest.
Among the guests were the representatives of the Embassy of Indonesia in Moscow, students, staff and lecturers from MGIMO and other institutions, such as the Institute of Asian and African Countries of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow State Linguistic University, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Higher School of Economics, Russian State Social University, Russian State University for the Humanities, People’s Friendship University, Institute of Oriental Studies, Institute of China and Contemporary Asia and others. From the Indonesian side, colleagues from the Indonesian National Defense Institute (Lemhannas) and Pajajaran University took part in the event remotely.
ASEAN Centre expresses its deep gratitude to the Embassy of Indonesia in Moscow, the Gamelan Dadali music group and the Kirana Nusantara Dance studio for their assistance in organizing and holding Indonesia Day at MGIMO.
