The Indonesian president is expected in kyiv to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensk, before going to Moscow where he will meet with Vladimir Putin. A first for a Southeast Asian leader since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Indonesia is well aware of this: Eastern Europe is not its favorite terrain, there is no chance that the Indonesian president will succeed in bringing together Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky around the same table.
But the symbol is there: Joko Widodo assumes the rotating presidency of the G20 which is held in Bali in November. Before receiving the greats of this world, he wants to at least try the path of dialogue and peace, faithful to the Indonesian doctrine in force since the end of the Second World War: non-alignment. We do not take sides in a conflict between East and West.
The real issue of these meetings is food security. Indonesia is calling for two urgent measures: the establishment of a secure corridor for the export of Ukrainian cereals, but also the unlocking of the Russian market. Because Russia was until now the world’s leading exporter of agricultural fertilisers, prices have tripled in the last twelve months. If Indonesian diplomacy achieves progress on this file, Joko Widodo will have already largely fulfilled his mission.
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