President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto arrived on his first visit to India as the head of state on Thursday night.
Subianto will be the chief guest at the 76th Republic Day celebrations on Sunday, apart from taking part in other official engagements.
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 of Indonesia as he arrives in New Delhi on his first State Visit to India,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on X. “This visit will further strengthen India-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership,” he said.
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 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.
