Prabowo Welcomes The Indian Foreign Minister In New Delhi

President Prabowo Subianto welcomed a courtesy visit from India's Foreign Minister, S. Jaishankar, at his hotel in New Delhi on Friday, January 24, 2025. This meeting is part of a long-standing tradition in India to honor important state guests. "One of the initial parts of a state visit always includes a courtesy call from the Foreign Minister as a Special Envoy of the Prime Minister to greet the state guest," said the Indonesian Ambassador in New Delhi, Ina Krisnamurthi, as quoted in a press release from the Presidential Secretariat. During the meeting, Minister Jaishankar explained the schedule of activities for President Prabowo during this state visit.

According to Ina, there were no substantial discussions in this meeting, as the event focused on honoring President Prabowo as the chief guest for the 76th Republic Day of India. "He was treated fully as both a president and a head of government," Ina added. She also mentioned that India has a special relationship with Indonesia in the context of Republic Day. The tradition of inviting a guest of honor for this celebration began with Indonesia's first President, Sukarno, who was the first chief guest at India's Republic Day in 1950. "The sequence itself was established because in 1950, President Sukarno was the first chief guest of the first Republic Day. So, if you look at the sequence, there has been almost no change since 1950," Ina noted.

Additionally, this visit coincides with the 75th anniversary of Indonesia-India bilateral relations. This is one of the strong reasons for choosing President Prabowo as the chief guest, along with the hope of strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership agreed upon since 2018.

Tag: Ina Krisnamurthi Indian New Delhi Prabowo Subianto