President Prabowo Subianto Receives Courtesy Call from Indian External Affairs Minister in New Delhi

President Prabowo Subianto, Friday (01/24), received a courtesy call from Minister of External Affairs of India S. Jaishankar at the hotel where he was staying in New Delhi.

According to Indonesian Ambassador to India Ina Krisnamurthi, paying a courtesy call is part of a long-standing tradition practiced by India in welcoming state guests.

“State visits always begin with the Minister of External Affairs as a Special Envoy to the Prime Minister requesting a courtesy call to welcome state guests,” Ina said in her press statement following the meeting.

Ina pointed out that during the meeting, Jaishankar gave an explanation about President Prabowo’s activities throughout the state visit, adding that there was no substantial discussion as the meeting was to pay respect to the President as a head of state, a head of government, and a chief guest at the celebration of the 76^th Republic Day of India.

Ina further stated that India shares a special relation with Indonesia in the context of Republic Day as Indonesia’s first president Soekarno was the first chief guest at the celebration in 1950.

“In fact, the sequence was set because, in 1950, President Soekarno was the chief guest, the first chief guest of the first Republic Day. Thus, there have been almost no changes in the sequence since 1950,” she said.

The state visit also coincided with the 75^th anniversary of Indonesia-Indian bilateral relations. This serves as a strong reason for President Prabowo to have been chosen as a chief guest, in addition to reinforcing the comprehensive strategic partnership that has been agreed upon since 2018.

For the record, President Prabowo is slated to attend a series of state events, including the celebration of the Republic Day of India on Sunday (01/26) that will feature many meaningful traditional ceremonies. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/ABD) (DH/MMB)