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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will grace India's 76th Republic Day celebrations at Kartvya Path today, in a great showcase of the two countries' long-standing ties, as India's first Republic Day celebrations in 1950 was also graced by then Indonesian President Sukarno.
President Prabowo, who is on his first state visit to India, will be the fourth Indonesian President to attend India's Republic Day celebrations. A 352-member marching and band contingent from Indonesia will participate in the Parade on the Kartvya Path in the national capital. This will be the first time that an Indonesian marching and band contingent will participate in a national day parade abroad. The two countries are close maritime neighbours with cultural and trade ties spanning over a millennia. The annual Bali Yatra festival, which commemorates the historic voyages by Indian seafarers who would set sail to Bali, is one such example of these cultural linkages. Indonesia is one of India's largest trading partners in the ASEAN region. Bilateral trade in 2023-24 reached US$ 29.40 billion. Indian investments in Indonesia amount to USD 1.56 billion in infrastructure, power, textiles, steel, automotive, mining, banking and consumer goods sectors. Indonesia is now part of the BRICS group and had expressed its appreciation for India's support towards its membership of the forum of emerging economies. Earlier on Saturday, 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 like defence, security, maritime domain, economic ties, and people-to-people connections. The visit of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to Delhi witnessed the signing and renewal of five Memorandums of Understanding on wide-ranging fields, including health, traditional medicine and maritime security. President Droupadi Murmu received her Indonesian counterpart at a special banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday. President Murmu thanked President Subianto for accepting the invitation to grace India's Republic Day celebration as Chief Guest. She recalled that 75 years ago, President Sukarno of Indonesia was Chief Guest on our very first Republic Day in 1950. This is a reflection of the long-standing ties and strong democratic traditions between India and Indonesia. (ANI)
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