President Prabowo Encourages Foreign Cooperation in Diplomatic Visit

President Prabowo Subianto made a state visit to India. During the visit, he emphasized Indonesia’s commitment to strengthening foreign cooperation, especially with India as one of its strategic partners in the region.

The visit was also marked by various important agreements covering many sectors.

In a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Hyderabad, New Delhi, President Prabowo emphasized the strengthening of cooperation in several strategic fields.

“We have discussed various opportunities for cooperation, ranging from trade, investment, to artificial intelligence (AI). We agreed to expand this relationship for mutual benefit,” said Prabowo.

The President also expressed his gratitude for India’s support for Indonesia’s membership in BRICS.

This membership, which officially came into effect on January 6, 2025, is considered an important step in increasing global stability and strengthening regional cooperation.

“We greatly appreciate India’s support, and we are confident that BRICS will be an important platform to support closer international cooperation,” he added.

In addition to focusing on the economic sector, President Prabowo also emphasized the importance of collaboration in the defense sector.

On that occasion, he announced that Indonesia had ratified a defense cooperation agreement with India.

A high-level defense delegation will also be sent soon to strengthen coordination.

“We are optimistic that this step will bring significant progress to bilateral relations between the two countries,” he said further.

Not only stopping at the economic and defense sectors, this visit also resulted in important agreements in the cultural sector.

Indonesian Minister of Culture Fadli Zon signed the Cultural Exchange Program which will run from 2025 to 2028.

Through this agreement, Indonesia and India are committed to collaborating in various fields, such as performing arts, language and literature, to cultural heritage conservation.

“This program will be a big step in strengthening cultural relations between the two countries which have a long history since the 4th century AD,” explained Fadli.

Fadli also expressed the hope that cooperation in the cultural sector can be a solid foundation for collaboration in other sectors.

One of the focuses is the repatriation of cultural heritage objects which has been a major concern.

“We will continue to encourage dialogue and joint research for the return of cultural objects as a form of respect for history and cultural diplomacy,” he said.

In addition, President Prabowo’s visit was also attended by more than a hundred delegates from the Indonesian business community.