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The newly elected President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto is to be the Chief Guest for the 76th Republic Day celebrations of India, as per sources.
The visit by the Indonesian leader becomes significant as India and Indonesia are commemorating 75 years of diplomatic relations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Subianto held their first meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio last year. During their meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment towards strengthening bilateral ties in the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The leaders noted that had called for celebrating the occasion in a befitting manner, as per the Ministry of External Affairs. "Indonesia and India have long-standing and excellent relations. We deeply value this relationship and are committed to enhancing it across various sectors," said the President as per the Cabinet Secretariat of Indonesia. In October last year, Indonesia's former defence minister, Prabowo Subianto took oath as the eighth President of Indonesia along with Gibran Rakabuming, son of former President Joko Widodo who was elected Vice President of the country. During his swearing-in ceremony, India was represented by Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita. Earlier, Subianto had visited New Delhi during his role as the Defence Minister of Indonesia in 2020. According to the Embassy of India in Indonesia, he was the first Minister of any country that was received in India during the COVID pandemic. During his visit, Prabowo met with the Defence Minister and National Security Advisor and held extensive talks on various bilateral issues. Earlier, Pakistani media outlets had claimed that the Indonesian President would also pay a visit to Pakistan however there has been no confirmation on this. In December last year, Radio Pakistan reported that Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif had extended an invitation to the Indonesian President to "visit Pakistan at his early convenience", on the sidelines of the D-8 (Developing 8) Summit in Cairo. Radio Pakistan said, "The Indonesian President graciously accepted the invitation". India and Indonesia share cordial and friendly ties. The first Republic Day Parade was held on 26 January 1950, during which the President of Indonesia Sukarno was the chief guest. Notably, former Indonesian President Joko Widodo graced the Republic Day celebrations in 2018 along with other leaders from ASEAN. (ANI)
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