Prabowo to Send Top Indonesian Citizens to Join Russia’s Cosmonaut Program

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto plans to send Indonesian citizens to Russia to participate in a cosmonaut program as part of exploratory cooperation in the space sector. Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono said the plan resulted from President Prabowo’s visit to Moscow, Russia, where he met President Vladimir Putin last week.

According to him, sending personnel and equipment into space is one indicator of a country’s technological advancement. “The President also conveyed the possibility for Indonesia to send selected and top individuals to take part in Russia’s cosmonaut training program,” Sugiono said.

For the record, Russia has operated a dedicated space program since 1951, organized across several bureaus and led by figures such as Sergei Korolev, Vasily Mishin, Mstislav Keldysh, Mikhail Yangel, Valentin Glushko, Vladimir Chelomey, Viktor Makeyev, Boris Chertok, and Mikhail Reshetnev under the Ministry of General Machine Building.

He added that discussions on cooperation with Russia are not limited to the space sector but also cover other areas such as agriculture, energy, and science.

“The talks also certainly cover various sectors, as Russia is a strategic partner of Indonesia whose partnership status was elevated in 2025,” he said.

On April 13, 2026, President Prabowo visited the Kremlin in Moscow to meet President Putin. During the meeting, the two leaders discussed various issues, including global geopolitical conditions as well as enhanced cooperation in space, energy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, education, and trade.