India is likely to invite Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto as the chief guest for the Republic Day parade in January 2025. If this materialises, it will be for the 4th time that an Indonesian leader will be the chief guest on the Republic Day of India.
Important to point out, that the first ever Republic Day in 1950 saw the then Indonesian President Sukarno being the chief guest.
In 2011, the then Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was the chief guest, followed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in 2018, who was the chief guest along with other ASEAN leaders.
The development comes at a time when India is marking a decade of Act East Policy. This year also marks important anniversaries of the establishment of India’s diplomatic relations with several countries in the region – 75th with Indonesia, 75th with the Philippines, 60th with Singapore and 40th with Brunei.
In the first 100 days of his 3rd term, the Indian PM Narendra Modi received the prime ministers of Vietnam and Malaysia. PM Modi also visited Laos, Brunei and Singapore earlier this year. President of India Droupadi Murmu also travelled to Timor-Leste for the first-ever Head of State visit from India.
With Indonesia, India has strong economic, defence and cultural linkages. In fact, Indonesia and India are maritime neighbours with discussions between the two countries about enhancing connectivity between the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Aceh, particularly focusing on maritime routes.