Russia intends to cooperate with Indonesia in field of creative economy

Indonesia may become one of the most promising countries for developing cooperation with Russia in the field of creative industries. This was stated by Nikita Kondratiev, Director of the Department for Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, according to the ministry’s website.

At present, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and Indonesia’s Ministry of Creative Economy are working on the development of a профиль memorandum to be signed in support of bilateral cooperation between the creative businesses of the two countries.

“Indonesia is one of the few countries that has a separate Ministry of Creative Economy (since 2024), as well as the Creative Economy Agency. The contribution of creative industries to Indonesia’s GDP has already exceeded US$25 billion, and more than 27 million Indonesians are employed in the creative industries, accounting for around 18 per cent of the country’s total workforce,” noted Natalya Kuchmanova, Representative of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development in Indonesia.

The ministry recommends that Russian businesses consider implementing their projects in two Indonesian special economic zones focused on creative industries: Nongsa and Singhasari. As Kuchmanova added, each of them offers special conditions for doing business and investing, such as exemptions from VAT and import tax, as well as other support measures.

In October 2025, the first International Conference on the Creative Economy was held in St. Petersburg, where the Russian Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jakarta Creative Economy Committee. In addition, Indonesian representatives took part in the Moscow International Video Game Week, which was held in November last year.

It is noted that in 2026 the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation plans to hold a series of events on the creative economy jointly with the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). An important international platform for promoting the Russian–Indonesian dialogue in the field of creative industries could be the 4th World Conference on Creative Economy, which will take place in October this year in Indonesia.