Indonesia, Belarus expand manufacturing cooperation

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Industry is expanding cooperation with Belarus in the manufacturing sector to strengthen industrial competitiveness, attract investment, and support the supply chains of both countries.

Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita stated that the measure is part of Indonesia's efforts to broaden strategic industrial partnerships in the Eurasian region.

According to him, Belarus is considered a potential partner for Indonesia due to its strengths in the heavy equipment, mining vehicles, cargo vehicles, and agricultural machinery.

"Strengthening industrial cooperation must be directed toward concrete and mutually beneficial collaboration to support the development of the manufacturing sectors of both countries," he remarked in a statement on Wednesday.

The cooperation was discussed during a bilateral meeting between the ministry's Director General of Resilience, Regional Development, and International Access (KPAII), Tri Supondy, and Belarusian Industry Minister, Andrei Kuznetsov, on the sidelines of the BRICS Forum on Partnership on the New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR) 2026 in Xiamen, China, at the end of May.

The partnership follows up on the meeting between Minister Kartasasmita and Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Karankevich in Jakarta in December 2025.

Since then, the two countries have actively explored opportunities for more practical cooperation in the manufacturing and investment sectors.

A key agenda in the Xiamen meeting was exploring cooperation in the mining and cargo vehicle sectors.

Belarus, with its strong expertise and capabilities in those industries, is viewed as a strategic partner for Indonesia’s industrial development.

The two sides also discussed the potential establishment of a Belarusian vehicle assembly plant in Indonesia through collaboration with local industry players.

Supondy stated that his office continues to explore global cooperation opportunities to support national industrial growth while expanding market access for Indonesia's leading products.

In 2025, the value of non-oil and gas trade between the two countries reached US$221.3 million, with Indonesia's exports to Belarus amounting to US$79.6 million, an increase of 82.57 percent compared with the previous year.

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Indonesia's main export commodity to Belarus include electronic components, palm oil products, processed fishery products, textiles, as well as coffee, cocoa, and tea.

Meanwhile, Indonesia imports fertilizers, livestock products, chemicals, measuring instruments, tractors, and agricultural machinery from Belarus.

In the investment sector, Belarus also recorded positive growth of 15.6 percent in the 2023–2025 period, with the average investment value reaching US$5.3 million.

To strengthen the legal framework for cooperation, Indonesia and Belarus are accelerating the finalization of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on industrial cooperation.

The agreement will cover several priority sectors, including agro-based industries, electric vehicles and automotive, heavy equipment, industrial estates, metals, medical devices, chemical-petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, human resource development, digital creative industries, Industry 4.0, green industry, and standardization.

The government plans to sign the MoU during the upcoming visit of the Belarusian President to Indonesia.

On the occasion, the two countries also discussed progress in the implementation of the Indonesia–Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement (I-EAEU FTA), signed in December 2025.

The agreement provides preferential tariffs for more than 90 percent of trade products between Indonesia and member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), including Belarus.

Related news: Indonesia, Belarus agree on 2026-2030 cooperation plan

Translator: Ahmad Muzdaffar, Resinta Sulistiyandari

Editor: Bayu Prasetyo

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