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Prabowo Subianto is R-Day guest. How are India-Indonesia strengthening defence, economic ties?

Prabowo Subianto is R-Day guest. How are India-Indonesia strengthening defence, economic ties?

FP Explainers January 24, 2025, 15:34:21 IST

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto is set to be the chief guest at this year’s Republic Day. Prabowo met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November. Now, in the backdrop of his first visit to India as Head of State, let’s examine how the two countries are strengthening defence and economic ties

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Prabowo Subianto is R-Day guest. How are India-Indonesia strengthening defence, economic ties?
Indian Army's BrahMos weapon systems are displayed during a full dress rehearsal for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi. File Image/Reuters

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto is set to be the chief guest at this year’s Republic Day.

Prabowo is making his first visit to India as Head of State.

He will become the fourth Indonesian president to attend Republic Day celebrations.

Now, attention is turning to India and Indonesia looking at doing business.

But what do we know about Prabowo’s visit and the burgeoning business relationship?

Let’s take a closer look:

Brief look at Prabowo’s visit

First, let’s take a brief look at Prabowo’s visit.

Prabowo is in India from January 23 to January 26.

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He will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade.

Interestingly, Sukarno, the first President of Indonesia, was the Chief Guest at India’s first Republic Day in 1950.

A 352-member marching and band contingent from Indonesia 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.

Strengthening defence ties

The two countries also seem to be strengthening their defence ties.

As per Bloomberg, New Delhi is considering selling Jakarta sell Russian-backed Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles in a deal valued at $450 million.

The sale is likely to be announced during Prabowo’s visit, people in the know told the outlet.

The two countries have been talking about the sale for nearly a decade.

Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state owned military hardware supplier, has been part of the negotiations, the people said.

As per Economic Times, Brahmos missiles will be a top priority for Prabowo during this visit.

When he came to India as defence minister in 2020, BrahMos missiles were high on Jakarta’s wish list.

Brahmos missiles will be a top priority for President Prabowo Subianto during this visit. AFP

The former general and defence minister played a critical role in the previous Joko Widodo regime.

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Prabowo and his cabinet colleagues put paid to agreements with China and Russia to keep the US on side.

“While Widodo was more reserved and cautious, Subianto is an outgoing and colourful character who will play a more visible and international role than Widodo,” Shyam Saran, former foreign secretary and India’s ambassador to Indonesia, told Rediff.com.

Bloomberg reported that Prabowo during his trip is likely to focus on increasing military and maritime security cooperation with India.

India’s ambassador discussed a technology transfer offer with Indonesia’s Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, as per the report.

The Print reported that New Delhi and Jakarta could sign a pact for the maintenance of Sukhoi fighter jets and for India to train Indonesian pilots on how to fly the plane.

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New Delhi and Jakarta’s navies have been carrying out joint patrols in the Indian Ocean since 2002.

The India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) becoming a backbone of maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.

Last week, the INS Mumbai – an indigenously designed and built guided missile destroyer – made a port call in Jakarta.

This came ahead of its participation in the fourth edition of the La Perouse military exercise – being held in the straits between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean:

This edition, which is taking place from January 16, 2025 to January 24, 2025, is witnessing the participation of the Royal Australian Navy, French Navy, Royal Navy, United States Navy, Indonesian Navy, Royal Malaysian Navy, Republic of Singapore Navy and Royal Canadian Navy.

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INS Mumbai’s participation in the military exercise is part of India’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) to enhance maritime cooperation and collaboration for a safer and more secure Indo-Pacific Region.

“Participation of Indian Navy in the exercise showcases the high levels of synergy, coordination and interoperability between the like-minded navies and their commitment to a rules-based international order in the maritime domain,” the defence ministry said in a release.

As per The Print, India and Indonesia signed the Defence Cooperation Agreement in 2018.

Last week, the INS Mumbai – an indigenously designed and built guided missile destroyer – made a port call in Jakarta. Image courtesy: PIB

There are regular talks between the defence services of the two countries.

The bilateral Army Exercise ‘Garuda Shakti’ and Joint Naval Exercise ‘Samudra Shakti’ are held regularly.

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Indonesia 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.

As per Rediff.com, the Indian embassy in Jakarta in 2020 organised the first ever India-Indonesia defence industry exhibition-cum-seminar.

Three dozen prominent defence firms India and several Indonesian State-owned defence enterprises and private defence enterprises participated.

Building economic relationship

India and Indonesia are strengthening economic ties too.

New Delhi and Jakarta elevated bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2018 visit.

Prime Minister Modi 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 recently joined the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) group.

The grouping is looking to strengthen its position as Trump takes charge of the United States.

As per Economic Times, in August, the Embassy of India in Indonesia relaunched the Indian Chamber of Commerce in front of representatives of firms of the two countries including Sinarmas, APR, BioFarma, Indika Energy, Adani, Tata Power, TCS, Thermax, Artemis Hospital, TVS, Vistara, Air India,  and L&T.

In terms of economic cooperation, 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.

As per Rediff.com, around 80 Indian firms including Adani group, TVS Group, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Jindal Stainless, Lakshmi Mittal group, and Wipro have invested in Indonesia.

India and Indonesia also 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.

The logo of the Adani Group is seen on the facade of its Corporate House on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India. File image/Reuters

Apollo Hospital is working with the Indonesian Mayapada Hospital group to build a green hospital in the new capital Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN) for clinical collaboration, providing capacity building, technical training, hospital management services and collaboration to make affordable and quality healthcare available to Indonesians.

Exports of pharmaceuticals and medical devices to Indonesia have risen from $167.01 million in 2020-21 to $230.41 million in 2023-24.

Indonesia is a major recipient of ITEC and TCS of Colombo Plan scholarships. ICCR offers around 20 scholarships every year to Indonesian students for pursuing higher studies in India. ITEC offers around 100 slots to Indonesia every year.

Direct flight connectivity between India and Indonesia commenced in August 2023. Routes include Mumbai-Jakarta, Delhi- Bali and Bengaluru-Bali sectors.

India has emerged as the second largest source of tourists (more than 6,00,000) to Bali in 2023-24.

There are approximately 1,50,000 Persons of Indian Origin whose ancestors 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 and bankers.

President Prabowo’s visit will provide an opportunity for the leaders to undertake a comprehensive review of bilateral ties as well as to discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest.

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 during Prabowo’s visit.

Several MoUs and announcements are likely to be concluded and the third CEO Forum will be held on the sidelines.

With inputs from agencies

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