New Delhi, Jan 24 (Representative) India is a very important friend country for Indonesia. India was one of the countries that supported our independence struggle, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said ahead of his state visit to India. President Subianto, who will be Chief Guest at the Republic Day on Monday, will be accorded a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday morning, ahead of holding bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the afternoon at Hyderabad House. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar will call on him at Taj Mahal Hotel, and later he will have a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu in the evening.President Prabowo said that besides attending the 76th Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, he 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, who arrived on Thursday night, was warmly received at the airport. “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 India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.” This is the first visit of President of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto to India as Head of State.Earlier, President Sukarno, the first President of Indonesia, was the Chief Guest at India’s first Republic Day in 1950. President Prabowo will be the fourth Indonesian President to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations.A 352-member marching and band contingent from Indonesia is also participating in India’s Republic Day Parade. This will be the first time that an Indonesian marching and band contingent will participate in a national day parade abroad.
Prime Minister Modi had paid an Official Visit to Indonesia in 2018. During the visit, India-Indonesia bilateral ties were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.The two leaders also met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 19 November 2024. This was the first meeting between the two leaders.Areas of engagementIndia 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.Political cooperationIndonesia is an important pillar in India’s Act East Policy. There are regular high-level interactions including convening of bilateral mechanisms like Joint Commission Meetings and Foreign Office Consultations.Economic cooperationIndonesia is one of India’s largest trading partners in the ASEAN region.Bilateral trade in 2023-24 reached US$ 29.40 billion. Indian investments in Indonesia amounts to USD 1.56 billion in infrastructure, power, textiles, steel, automotive, mining, banking and consumer goods sectors. Defence cooperation the Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in 2018 has further strengthened defence ties.Regular conduct of Air Force to Air Force Staff Talks, Navy-to-Navy Staff Talks and Army-to-Army Staff Talks.Regular conduct of Bilateral Army Exercise Garuda Shakti and Joint Naval Exercise Samudra Shakti. Regular conduct of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT).India’s participation in Multilateral Naval Exercise KOMODO. Indonesia’s participation in Exercise MILAN.Cooperation in spaceIndia and Indonesia share robust and active space cooperation dating back to 1997. Two Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TTC) ground stations set up by ISRO at Biak, Papua support Indian satellite and launch vehicle missions.
Cooperation in healthApollo Hospital is working with Indonesian Mayapada Hospital group for building a green hospital in new capital Ibu Kota Nusantara(IKN) for clinical collaboration, providing capacity building, technical training, hospital management services and for collaboration to make affordable and quality healthcare available to Indonesians. Exports of pharmaceuticals and medical devices to Indonesia has risen from US$ 167.01 mn in 2020-21 to US$ 230.41 mn in 2023-24. ConnectivityDirect flight connectivity between India and Indonesia commenced in August 2023. Routes include Mumbai-Jakarta, Delhi- Bali and Bangalore-Bali sectors.India has emerged as the second largest source of tourists (more than 600,000) to Bali in 2023-24.Indian diaspora There are approximately 150,000 Persons of Indian Origin whose ancestors had migrated to Indonesia in the 19th and 20th centuries. There are around 14,000 Indian Nationals (NRI) living in Indonesia including entrepreneurs, engineers, chartered accountants, IT professionals, consultants, bankers, and other professions. Expected outcomes from the visit The entire gamut of bilateral cooperation including political, defence and security cooperation, trade and investment, healthcare, digital technologies, energy, culture, connectivity, tourism and people-to-people relations will be reviewed.Several MoUs and announcements are likely to be concluded during the visit. The 3rd CEO Forum will be held on the sidelines.