PM Modi visits Istiqlal Mosque with the Indonesian President Widodo in Jakarta
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today visited Indonesia's grand Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in southeast Asia, with President Joko Widodo.
"Glad to have visited the Istiqlal Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world," PM Modi said in a tweet.
"Ramadan Karim! Indonesian President @jokowi accompanied PM @narendramodi during a visit to Istiqlal Mosque... tweeted the Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs.
Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim population followed by India.
The mosque was built to mark Indonesia's independence. Istiqlal is an Arabic word for "independence". The mosque took 17 years to build and can accommodate over 120,000 worshippers.
Before visiting the mosque, PM Modi visited the Arjuna Wijaya Chariot or chariot of the victorious Arjuna. The iconic structure depicts a scene from the Mahabharata, with Arjuna and Lord Krishna on the chariot, pulled by eight horses, symbolizing the eight elements of nature - the sun, moon, stars, fire, earth, water, wind and ocean.
PM Modi and President Widodo visit Arjuna Wijaya Chariot
PM Modi arrived in Jakarta yesterday on the first leg of his three-nation tour to Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore to boost India's Act East Policy.