House Strengthens Parliamentary Diplomacy for Concrete Indonesia-Russia MoU

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) has reaffirmed its commitment to fostering parliamentary diplomacy to ensure that various memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between Indonesia and Russia are implemented in concrete terms. Chairperson of the House's Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP), Syahrul Aidi Maazat, expressed this after receiving a courtesy call from Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Sergei Gennadievich Tolchenov at the Indonesian Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Monday, September 14, 2026.

He also said the meeting discussed efforts to strengthen bilateral relations following President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Russia, including various areas of cooperation agreed upon by the two countries. He said the parliament, through its oversight function, is responsible for ensuring that the MoUs do not stop at the signing stage.

"We will oversee and monitor these MoUs to ensure they are followed up. We will certainly provide support, including through legislation, as there may be matters that need to be strengthened through regulations adopted by Parliament," Syahrul conveyed.

Syahrul added that the agency would carry out its role as a second-track diplomacy channel by connecting the outcomes of government cooperation with relevant parliamentary bodies and commissions. This would allow international cooperation to be implemented with the support of parliamentary regulations and oversight.

“BKSAP will serve as a bridge between the government and members of Parliament. If regulations need to be drafted, we will communicate with the Legislation Body. If the matter concerns a particular ministry, for example the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, we will convey it to the members of Commission XII,” he explained, referring to a House's commission dealing with energy, mineral resources, environment, and investment.

He said the agency had also proposed a forum involving the agency’s leadership and the leaders of DPR commissions. The initiative aims to ensure that every MoU agreed upon with partner countries is translated into concrete action.

“We want to ensure that every MoU we have with friendly countries does not simply remain on the table, but is actually implemented,” he affirmed.

Besides discussing the implementation of cooperation agreements, the meeting also addressed efforts to strengthen parliamentary relations between Indonesia and Russia. The Russian ambassador also invited House Speaker Puan Maharani to attend the Eurasian Parliamentary Forum, which will be held in Russia next year.

"He also wanted to invite Ms. Puan Maharani, the Speaker of the DPR, to attend the forum next year in Russia. It is certainly an honor for the Speaker of the DPR to be invited to the Eurasian Parliamentary Forum. God willing, we will convey the invitation to the Speaker," Syahrul said.

Russia also expressed hope that the Indonesian parliament could participate as an observer in Russia’s elections, with the earliest election next weekend to vote for State Duma members. However, Syahrul explained that Indonesia would not be able to send an observer delegation to the elections taking place this week.

“We conveyed that, under the current circumstances, we are not yet able to send observers to the Russian elections. We fully respect the outcome of the elections and support democracy in Russia,” he said.

Syahrul hoped that peace between Russia and Ukraine could be achieved soon to help maintain regional and global stability. "Lastly, we prayed that peace between Russia and Ukraine can be achieved, and that together we can also help bring peace to the world," he said.