Participants of Russian and Indonesian security consultations expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, the press service of the Russian Security Council (SB) reported on Tuesday.
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security Mohammad Mahfud held the consultations in Jakarta. The meeting was attended by representatives from military departments, special services, financial monitoring services, law enforcement agencies and ministries of justice of the two countries. The consultations resulted in a joint statement.
"Concerns were expressed about current political and security issues in the global and regional contexts, as well as the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan," a statement following the meeting said.
The sides also agreed on further cooperation in maintaining peace, stability and security in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, and discussed ASEAN cooperation with other regional organizations, including the SCO.
The Russian Security Council added that the meeting included an exchange of views on key political and security topics of mutual interest at the regional and global levels.
"The consultations informed each other about various security aspects, including defense, justice, counterterrorism, intelligence, transnational crime, countering the financing of terrorist activity, cybersecurity and emergency response," the statement said. The sides also noted in a joint statement that the sixth round of consultations was held in the spirit of further strengthening security cooperation between Russia and Indonesia.
Dynamics of cooperation
Participants in the Russian-Indonesian consultations noted the positive dynamics of cooperation between the countries on international security issues.
"The sides noted the positive dynamics of cooperation between Russia and Indonesia on international security issues at the bilateral and multilateral levels. In this regard, they welcomed the signing of an agreement between the government of the Russian Federation and the government of the Republic of Indonesia on cooperation in the field of international information security," the Russian Security Service said in a statement.
In addition, the parties noted that the global system as a whole is facing potential instability and more complex security threats in the post-pandemic era, as well as growing risks of escalating conflicts in several regions, the spread of terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking, corruption, transnational crime and the use of ICT for terrorist and criminal purposes.
"The parties agreed on the need to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism, including the exchange of information, intelligence and best practices on deradicalization and law enforcement," the report said.
Participants in the consultations also expressed concern about the growing threats caused by the growth of illicit cultivation, production and smuggling of narcotic drugs, drug addiction, increasing illicit profits from drug smuggling, which, according to the report, can become one of the sources of financing of terrorism. In this regard, the parties also agreed on joint efforts to counter a wide range of threats in the law enforcement sphere in bilateral and multilateral formats at the platforms of specialized international organizations.
The press service of the Security Council also reported that Patrushev expressed gratitude to the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security of Indonesia, Mohammad Mahfud, for the hospitality, as well as the warm and friendly reception the Russian delegation had received. The Secretary of the Russian Security Council also invited Mahfud to visit Russia for another round of bilateral consultations, and the latter, in turn, accepted the invitation.
Partnership declaration
Russia and Indonesia plan to adopt a declaration on strategic partnership following talks between the two countries' presidents, Vladimir Putin and Joko Widodo, in 2022.
"The sides expressed satisfaction with the increasing level of interaction on strategic issues in politics, law and security and expressed hope for the signing of a Declaration on Strategic Partnership between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Indonesia following talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indonesian President Joko Widodo in 2022," the Russian Security Council said in a statement.
In addition, as noted in the Security Council, as a result of negotiations between the presidents of Russia and Indonesia next year is also expected to sign a bilateral agreement on extradition and an intergovernmental agreement on simplification of the visa regime for mutual travel of citizens.
Putin and Widodo met the previous time in 2018 on the margins of the Russia-ASEAN summit in Singapore.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS