Vice President Dhankhar Meets Indonesian President Ahead of Republic Day Celebrations

New Delhi: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar met Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Saturday, ahead of the President's participation as the Chief Guest for the 76th Republic Day celebrations on January 26.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at Hyderabad House in Delhi. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with a focus on sectors such as defense, security, maritime domain, economic ties, and people-to-people connections.

At the invitation of PM Modi, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is on a state visit to India. He is also the Chief Guest for India's 76th Republic Day celebrations. This is Prabowo's first visit to India since assuming office in October 2024.

Following his meeting with PM Modi, President Subianto underscored the historic ties and strategic partnership between Indonesia and India. He emphasized the longstanding friendship and cooperation between the two nations.

In his press statement alongside PM Modi, Prabowo stated, "The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia is on land donated by the Indian government before we were recognised by many other countries in the world. We will prioritise this relationship in the interest of long-term strategic partnership which we have agreed upon. We feel very honoured that I will be the Chief Guest tomorrow at the Republic Day parade and because the first Chief Guest in India's first Republic Day parade was President Sukarno, so this is a great honour for me."

He noted that India was one of the first strong supporters of Indonesia's independence. He said, "For the first time, an Indonesian military contingent has taken part in a military parade outside of Indonesia. I would like to extend our congratulations on the celebration of India's 76th Republic Day. India was one of the first strong supporters of our independence struggle. India sent assistance, financial aid, medical aid in our struggle for independence. Many Indian leaders supported us in our critical times."

Meanwhile, PM Modi called Indonesia as an "important partner" for India in ASEAN and Indo-Pacific. He expressed commitment of India and Indonesia to ensure peace, security, progress and rule-based order.

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