Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Indonesia on Monday at the start of a three-nation tour that will also take him to Australia and New Zealand and is focused on enhancing cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, defence, technology and critical minerals with India’s key partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto received Modi on his arrival in Jakarta, along with four ministers as a special gesture. Modi’s special aircraft was escorted by F-16 and Su-30 combat jets of the Indonesian Air Force when it entered the country’s airspace, reflecting the growing defence and security cooperation between the two sides.
The visit comes at a time when the US is rebalancing its ties with China, whose assertive actions continue to be a concern across the Indo-Pacific, and key players in the region are hedging to ensure the diversity and resilience of supply chains and to overcome dependence on Beijing. The visit will also strengthen India’s Act East policy and the efforts to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Modi said on social media he was “touched” by Prabowo’s gesture of welcoming him at the airport, and that their talks on Tuesday will be “aimed at adding even more momentum to this partnership across diverse sectors”.
Modi’s Indonesia visit: Towards one of India’s most valuable strategic partnerships
India and Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia that accounts for almost a third of the Asean bloc’s economy, elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2018. Two-way trade was worth $24.78 billion in 2025-26, with the balance in Indonesia’s favour. Indonesia is the second Asean member state, after the Philippines, to conclude an agreement with India to acquire the BrahMos cruise missile.
Modi’s visit to Indonesia on July 6-8 follows Prabowo’s trip to India last year to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26. He said in a statement ahead of his departure that the visit will deepen all aspects of the multifaceted bilateral partnership.
“During this visit, I will also interact with the Indian diaspora in Indonesia and visit the Prambanan Temple complex at Yogyakarta with President Prabowo, which is another remarkable testament to our close cultural ties,” he said.
The visit will also advance the defence and maritime partnership between India and Indonesia, according to people familiar with the matter. India’s defence and security cooperation with Indonesia has witnessed increased momentum and scope through regular bilateral and multilateral exercises and deeper defence industry cooperation, including the sale of the BrahMos missile system, they said.
In addition to cooperating closely in the Indo-Pacific, Indonesia has stationed a liaison officer at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) to bolster collaboration on maritime domain awareness.
Indonesia has emerged as India’s second-largest trade partner in the Asean region, and more than 130 Indian companies have a presence in diverse sectors in Indonesia. India has also backed Indonesia’s food security priorities, including the supply of 100 tonnes of wheat seeds, as part of efforts to develop resilient and sustainable agricultural cooperation.
Modi’s visit is also expected to strengthen cooperation in critical minerals, a sector that Indonesia dominates with almost 21% of global nickel reserves and by ranking among the top producers of copper, bauxite and tin.
The two sides are also looking at cooperation in digital public infrastructure, including a tie-up between India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) digital payment system. This will make travel, tourism, trade and business interactions faster and more seamless, the people said.
Modi said in his statement that his meetings in Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand will boost economic and strategic cooperation with “valued developmental partners”. From Indonesia, Modi will travel to Melbourne for talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership and to take forward ties in defence and security, trade and investments and education and mobility. Modi will also interact with the Indian diaspora in Melbourne.
In the final leg of his tour in New Zealand, Modi will hold talks with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Auckland to build on the momentum in bilateral ties and to enhance economic, trade and commercial engagements. “India and New Zealand have committed themselves to strengthening bilateral trade and commercial ties with the signing of the Free Trade Agreement,” he said.