RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Sugiono, said Indonesia and Slovakia have agreed to upgrade their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership. He said the two countries have established research cooperation between Indonesia’s Andalas University and universities in Slovakia.

The cooperation has successfully developed a new wheat variety suitable for cultivation in tropical climates. According to him, this achievement is one of the strong reasons for Indonesia to deepen its relations with Slovakia.

“Also, one of the things that is very instrumental and very strategic, in my opinion, is the successful research between Indonesian universities, particularly Andalas University, and Slovak universities and research teams that have developed a new strain of wheat suitable for tropical climates. I think this is another strong reason for Indonesia to have a stronger and more strategic relationship with Slovakia,” Sugiono stated during a joint press statement with Slovak Foreign Minister, Juraj Blanar in Jakarta on Tuesday, 3 February 2026.

He also said that Indonesia and Slovakia signed a defense cooperation agreement in 2023 covering training, research, development and production, as well as technology transfer. “I think both are currently in the process of ratification in our respective parliaments,” Sugiono conveyed.

In the economic sector, Sugiono invited Slovak investors and business players to partner with Danantara and welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency on cooperation in trade and investment.

According to the minister, the MoU reflects a strong commitment to deepen economic cooperation, including in the sectors of energy transition, food self-sufficiency, and health. He also noted that the increasing number of Slovak visitors to Indonesia opens opportunities to strengthen tourism cooperation to boost tourist arrivals in both countries.

In addition, the foreign minister expressed appreciation for Slovakia’s provision of educational scholarships to Indonesian students and expressed hope that the cooperation could be expanded to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields to support Indonesia’s industrialization and downstreaming programs.