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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday said that Indian democracy serves as a remarkable example from which Indonesia draws lessons, and told how he has Indian DNA.
He made the remarks while speaking to the members of the Indian diaspora. President Prabowo recalled how he was the Chief Guest of the Republic Day celebrations in 2025 and noted how President Sukarno was the Chief Guest in 1950 during the Republic Day celebrations. He shared how just before he made the state-visit to India, he did a gene-testing and found out that he had Indian DNA. "Just before my state-visit to India, I had done the genome sequencing test and I found out that I had Indian DNA," Crowds erupted into loud cheers upon his remarks. In a light-hearted remark, he added, "So whenever I hear Indian music, I find my body moving... Today at the state-banquet, I cannot help; my ministers and generals they all like to dance and sing. Maybe most of them have Indian DNA also... It's true. Most of my ministers sing Indian songs really well." He hailed the meeting with PM Modi and said, "We are the two largest democracies in the world. It is not an easy path but it is the best system for justice, hope, inclusiveness... We must believe and strife to maintain democracy." He said that Indonesia is closely learning from the Indian elections system and lauded India for the peaceful transition of government at state and the Union level. "This is a remarkable achievement. I myself also study this and follow the remarkable achievements of India." Meanwhile, earlier today, in a light-hearted moment carrying a deeper strategic message, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto drew smiles from dignitaries during a banquet lunch by openly acknowledging his admiration for India's growth model. Addressing PM Modi directly, President Subianto praised India's developmental strides and candidly stated, "I follow your career and I copied many of your programmes. I don't mind admitting, because if it succeeds for hundreds of million people with the same background as Indonesia, the same problems, we are making the same, we have the same problems of big population, we have agriculture in background, we face many natural disasters, and yet India has achieved many progress. So I openly admit that I follow your career and I copied a lot of your programmes." The Indonesian leader further highlighted that these adapted strategies are already delivering positive outcomes on the ground, adding, "And it's proving to be successful for us. So, thank you very much. I'm very happy there's no copyright to all your programmes." Demonstrating that this policy alignment is actively translating into bilateral exchange, President Subianto revealed that a delegation from Jakarta recently concluded an intensive study of India's agricultural innovations. He also conferred upon PM Modi 'Bintang Adipurna of the Republic of Indonesia' Medal of Honor on Tuesday in recognition of PM's leadership in strengthening India-Indonesia friendship, the Ministry of External Affairs said. Prime Minister Modi dedicated the honour to the people of India. He is on a three-day state-visit to Indonesia. (ANI)
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