Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrives for four-day visit to India ahead of Republic Day celebrations
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrived for a four-day visit in New Delhi on Thursday night during which he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will attend the 76th Republic Day Parade in India. This is President Prabowo's first state visit to India. He was received by the Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita at the airport in New Delhi.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the visit will further strengthen the India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. "A warm welcome to President Prabowo Subianto @prabowo of Indonesia as he arrives in New Delhi on his first State Visit to India. Received by MoS @PmargheritaBJP at the airport. President @prabowo will be the Chief Guest for India's 76th Republic Day celebrations. This visit will further strengthen the IndiaIndonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X. President Prabowo, who is in India from January 23-26, will also be the Chief Guest for India's 76th Republic Day celebrations.
Apart from a comprehensive review of bilateral ties, discussions during the visit are also expected to include regional and global issues of mutual interest. Before departing, President Prabowo shared the details of his visit on X, and said the visit is aimed to strengthen strategic cooperation in areas such as security, maritime, and digital technology development. He also informed that he will depart for Malaysia after his Indonesia visit. "Today, I depart for New Delhi, India, to attend the 76th Republic Day celebrations of India. During my visit, I will meet with the President and Prime Minister of India to strengthen strategic cooperation in areas such as security, maritime, and digital technology development," the Indonesian President said.
"After completing my agenda in India, I will continue my trip to Malaysia at the invitation of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Close cooperation with friendly countries has always been our priority to build a stronger and more prosperous region together," he added. During his visit, President Prabowo is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, the MEA said. On Friday, he will meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at the Taj Mahal Hotel at 4 p.m.
On January 25, President Prabowo will participate in a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 10 a.m., followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at Rajghat. He will later hold a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House at 12 p.m., which will include the exchange of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and press statements. In the evening, he will meet with India's Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar at the Taj Mahal Hotel at 4 p.m. At 7 p.m., he will meet President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. On January 26, President Prabowo will attend the Republic Day Parade as the Chief Guest. Later in the afternoon, he will attend the "At Home" Reception hosted by President Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. At 5:30 pm, he will depart for Indonesia.
Notably, with President Prabowo as Chief Guest at this year's Republic Day, a 352-member marching and band contingent from the country will be participating in the Parade on the Kartvya Path in the national capital. This will be the first time that an Indonesian marching and band contingent will participate in a national day parade abroad. Several MoUs and announcements are likely to be concluded and the third CEO Forum will be held on the sidelines. President Prabowo will be the fourth Indonesian President to attend India's Republic Day celebrations. PM Modi paid an official visit to Indonesia in 2018. During the visit, India-Indonesia bilateral ties were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and a shared vision of India-Indonesia Maritime Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific was also adopted.
PM Modi also met President Prabowo on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in November last year. This was the first meeting between the two leaders. Indonesia is now part of the BRICS group and has expressed its appreciation for India's support towards its membership of the forum of emerging economies. Sources said Indonesia is interested in learning from India and other countries to strengthen its defence system and is keen on technology transfer. They also said a defence deal is unlikely to be finalised during this visit and that India and Indonesia also have robust defence cooperation with the Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in 2018.
Both India and Indonesia are close maritime neighbours with cultural and trade ties spanning over a millennia. The annual Bali Yatra festival, which commemorates the historic voyages by Indian seafarers who would set sail to Bali, is one such example of these cultural linkages. Indonesia is one of India's largest trading partners in the ASEAN region. Bilateral trade in 2023-24 reached $29.40 billion. Indian investments in Indonesia amount to $1.56 billion in infrastructure, power, textiles, steel, automotive, mining, banking and consumer goods sectors.
