Indonesian President, Republic Day Chief Guest, Lands In India

 Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrived in the national capital on Friday night, on his first state visit to India.

He was received by the Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita at the airport in New Delhi.

President Prabowo, who is in India from January 23-26, will also be the Chief Guest for India's 76th Republic Day celebrations.

The Ministry of External Affairs 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 India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated in a post on X.

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 🇮🇳's 76th Republic Day celebrations.

This visit will… pic.twitter.com/OEeXLOengC

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) January 23, 2025

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 stated.

"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 Subianto is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, the MEA stated.

On Friday, he will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the Taj Mahal Hotel at 4:00 pm.

On January 25, President Prabowo will participate in a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 10:00 am, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at Rajghat.

He will later hold a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House at 12:00 pm, 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 4:00 pm. At 7:00 pm, 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 Subianto 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.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)