January 24, 2025
JAKARTA – President Prabowo Subianto jetted off on Thursday to India, where he is to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as a slew of high-ranking officials.
The trip marks Prabowo’s first state visit to the world’s most populous nation since he took office in October.
His itinerary includes attending India’s 76th Republic Day parade on Sunday as chief guest and a commemorative event to mark the 75th anniversary of India-Indonesia diplomatic ties.
“India is our friend and an important partner to Indonesia. India was one of the countries that strongly supported our struggle for independence during the war until 1949,” Prabowo said on Thursday afternoon, just before departing to New Delhi.
Prabowo’s visit to India begins on Friday, when he is slated to meet with President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan Palace in New Delhi.
His meeting with Modi is scheduled for Saturday at Hyderabad House, the Indian prime minister’s state guesthouse.
After their meeting, Prabowo and Modi are to visit the Raj Ghat memorial complex in the Indian capital to pay homage to spiritual leader and independence activist Mahatma Gandhi. It is there that the two leaders are expected to sign a number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on their countries’ bilateral cooperation in health, education, culture and security and maritime safety.
“I will also meet with Indian businesspeople who want to invest in Indonesia. Representatives from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry [Kadin] will be present during the event,” Prabowo said.
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The Foreign Ministry has described the visit to India as “an affirmation of the deepening and widening strategic cooperation between the two countries, especially in the economic, security [and] maritime sectors”.
The rapid rise of Chinese influence and Beijing’s increasingly proactive foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific has sparked concern among some nations in the region, including India, which is currently in a dispute with China over border areas. The two countries’ armed forces have clashed several times along their shared border, resulting in deaths on both sides.
To counter Beijing’s growing influence in the region, New Delhi has ramped up diplomatic efforts, such as through the 2014 Act East policy as well as by joining the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue informal alliance alongside Australia, Japan and the United States.
Indonesia has been intensifying its defense diplomacy in recent years while maintaining its nonalignment policy stance amid the fierce rivalry between China and the United States, though the government has acknowledged a need to modernize the military to safeguard national interests.
Some media have reported that India and Indonesia are currently in talks over a US$450 million deal for the former to export Russian-backed supersonic cruise missiles to the latter, which is likely to be discussed during the meeting between Prabowo and Modi.
“As a comprehensive strategic partner, Indonesia is an important pillar in India’s Act East policy and our vision of the Indo-Pacific,” New Delhi said in a statement recently.
“The forthcoming state visit of Prabowo will provide an opportunity for leaders to undertake a comprehensive review of bilateral ties as well as to discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest,” it said.
Prabowo’s visit to India comes amid projections that both Jakarta and New Delhi could struggle with Donald Trump’s return to the White House, as the Republican leader has previously pledged to impose exorbitant tariffs on the informal BRICS group, of which both countries are members.
The President is expected to fly to Malaysia for another state visit after the Republic Day celebrations on Sunday.