New Delhi: India and Indonesia on Saturday unveiled measures to enhance cooperation in trade, defence, maritime security and health, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding up the Southeast Asian nation as an “important partner” for maintaining security and a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific.
Market access and diversifying the trade basket as well as cooperation in defence manufacturing figured in talks between Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who will be the chief guest for the Republic Day parade on Sunday, 75 years after President Sukarno was accorded the same honour at India’s first national day celebration.
“Indonesia is our important partner in the Asean and Indo-Pacific region. We both are committed to maintaining peace, security, prosperity and rules-based order in this entire region,” Modi said at a media interaction with Prabowo after their talks.
“We agree that freedom of navigation must be ensured in accordance with international laws,” he said, speaking in Hindi, in an apparent reference to China’s activities in the South China Sea and other regional waters.
Prabowo described India as a “long-time friend” of Indonesia, highlighted New Delhi’s role in backing his country’s independence struggle, and said: “We consider this partnership very important, and we would like to enhance and accelerate the level of cooperation between us.”
He emphasised India’s role both as a co-founder of the Non-Aligned Movement and in championing the causes of the Global South and said this cooperation will be “beneficial to global stability and regional cooperation”.
Both leaders signalled their desire to increase two-way trade, worth more than $30 billion in 2024. Modi said their talks focused on market access and diversifying the trade basket, and they decided to strengthen cooperation in fintech, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and digital public infrastructure.
Prabowo said he directed his team “to accelerate, to expedite, to cut bureaucracy, too much over-regulation” to bolster the economic partnership with India. Besides agreeing to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, energy and health, Prabowo sought Indian investments to develop Indonesia’s infrastructure.
Indonesia is India’s second largest trading partner in the 10-member Asean bloc. Bilateral trade has surged from $4.3 billion in 2005-06 to $29.40 billion in 2023-24, and India is the second biggest buyer of coal and the largest buyer of crude palm oil from Indonesia. India’s exports include refined petroleum products, commercial vehicles, telecommunication equipment and agriculture commodities.
Prabowo, a retired general, said he would send a high-level delegation to India to take forward defence collaboration following the ratification of a bilateral defence cooperation agreement. Modi added, “To increase cooperation in the defence sector, we have decided to work together in defence manufacturing and supply chains.”
Modi emphasised bilateral cooperation in maritime security, cyber security, counter-terrorism and de-radicalisation. He said an agreement on maritime safety and security finalised on Saturday between India’s Coast Guard and Indonesia’s Bakamla or maritime security agency will strengthen cooperation in crime prevention, search and rescue, and capacity building.
Indonesia has been engaged in protracted negotiations with India on acquiring the BrahMos cruise missile system. People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that the two sides have reached a broad understanding on the pricing of the deal, expected to be worth around $450 million. If the deal goes ahead, Indonesia will become the second foreign buyer of the missile after the Philippines.
The two sides also signed three other memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on health cooperation, digital development cooperation, traditional medicine and cultural exchanges. The MoU between the health ministries is expected to bolster cooperation to help Indonesia overcome a shortage of healthcare professionals. Indonesia needs some 160,000 doctors and nurses and is looking to India as a potential source for such personnel.
Modi said India is sharing its experience in areas such as health and food security, including the mid-day meal scheme and Public Distribution System, with Indonesia. The two sides have also decided to work together in energy, critical minerals, science and technology, space and STEM education, and will conduct joint exercises between the disaster management authorities of the two sides, he said.
He also pointed to cooperation between India and Indonesia at forums such as Asean, G20 and Indian Ocean Rim Association, and welcomed Indonesia’s recent membership of Brics. “In all these forums, we will work in cooperation and coordination on the interests and priorities of the countries of the Global South,” he said.
Referring to the age-old cultural ties between India and Indonesia, Modi said that following the conservation of Borobudur Buddhist temple in Indonesia with Indian assistance, New Delhi will contribute to the conservation of Prambanan Hindu temple, a 9th century compound in Yogyakarta that is a UNESCO world heritage site. The year 2025 will be celebrated as the India-Asean Year of Tourism to promote cultural exchanges and tourism between the two countries, he said.
Alongside Prabowo’s presence at the Republic Day celebrations, a 352-member marching contingent will participate in the parade – the first time the Indonesian military is joining a national day parade abroad.
“We…feel very honoured that I will be the chief guest tomorrow at the Republic Day parade of India. And because the first chief guest in India’s first Republic Day parade was President Sukarno, so this is a great honour for me that I will represent Indonesia tomorrow,” Prabowo said. “I am sure that this visit will mark the new start of an accelerated programme of cooperation and friendship,” he added, while inviting Modi to visit Indonesia.
