Indonesian, Russian ministers sign extradition agreement

INDONESIA: Indonesia and Russia signed an extradition agreement on Friday, with the Southeast Asian country's law minister welcoming a move that he said should strengthen efforts to combat cross-border crimes, ranging from money laundering to cybercrime. The treaty was signed by Indonesia's law minister Yasonna Laoly and Russia's justice minister Konstantin Chuychenko in an ceremony held on the resort island of Bali.

"This is very important as it helps us to deal with transnational crimes such as cybercrime, money laundering, drugs and corruption," said Yasonna. Indonesia has had diplomatic ties with Russia since 1950 and its relations have remained good despite the war in Ukraine.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo also visited Moscow and Kyiv last year in a bid to rekindle peace talks and seek ways to free up grain to global markets. Russian nationals are also among the biggest groups of foreign arrivals in Indonesia, according to official tourism data. Since COVID-19 restrictions were eased, more than 77,500 Russians arrived in Indonesia between September 2022 and January 2023.