India, Indonesia Vow To Shore Up Bilateral Links

India and Indonesia on Sunday set the tone for deepening their defence and economic engagement through a raft of measures including New Delhi pledging to support the southeast Asian nation's defence modernisation programmes through experience and expertise sharing, and the two sides taking steps to resolve outstanding tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, said a joint statement issued on the state visit of President Prabowo Subianto, who was the chief guest at Sunday's Republic Day celebrations.

- Rahul Singh

NEW DELHI: The two countries also agreed to enhance cooperation in other fields including counter terrorism, health and pharmaceuticals, food security, infrastructure and connectivity, science and technology, space cooperation, education and skill development, climate change and disaster resilience, and Indo-Pacific initiatives.

"Recognising the importance of building domestic defence manufacturing capabilities, President Prabowo appreciated India's advancements and expressed interest in strengthening cooperation in this sector. Both countries affirmed their commitment to deepen collaboration in the defence industry by utilising the joint defence cooperation committee (JDCC),"" the statement said.

Indonesia is engaged in negotiations with India on acquiring the BrahMos missile system, and the two sides have reached a broad understanding on the pricing of the deal, expected to be worth around $450 million.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Subianto also called for convening the second meeting of the working group on trade and investment (WGTI), and the 4th biennial trade ministers' forum (BMTF) to resolve trade barriers.

Indonesia is India's second largest trading partner in the 10-member Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) bloc.