Republic Day 2025: Indonesian marching contigent, band to lead parade for first time, says MEA

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who will be the chief guest for the Republic Day, receives a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi. Pic/PTI

A marching contingent and band from Indonesia will lead India's Republic Day 2025 parade for the first time, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated on Saturday.

According to news agency ANI, while speaking at a special briefing on the state visit of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East) of MEA, emphasised Jakarta's pivotal role as a crucial partner in India's Act East Policy and Indo-Pacific vision. He described the visit as both "timely" and "important," noting the extensive discussions between the two nations on various matters.

Mazumdar stated, "Tomorrow, the President [of Indonesia] will witness the Republic Day 2025 parade as a chief guest. One remarkable feature of this Republic Day parade is that a marching contingent and a band from Indonesia will be at the lead of our parade. This is not only the first time that we are having a contingent from Indonesia marching on Republic Day, but for Indonesia, it is the first time ever that a military band and a military contingent have participated in a parade abroad, anywhere."

He further elaborated, "This is also of particular importance because the President is also a soldier by profession, and he himself has taken great interest in the rehearsals of the army contingent in Jakarta before they came. He is therefore extremely happy that this honour has been given to the Indonesian Army. Indonesia, as I have said, is our comprehensive strategic partner and a very important pillar of our Act East policy and our vision for the Indo-Pacific. The visit is a very timely one, very important, and the substantive discussions held in a wide range of areas will certainly chart the way forward in bilateral relations for the next few years."

At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Subianto is on a state visit to India, ANI reported. The visit marks his first trip to India since assuming office in October 2024. He is also the Chief Guest for India's 76th Republic Day celebrations.

Mazumdar noted that President Subianto is accompanied by a high-powered delegation, including six cabinet ministers, senior officials, and a large business delegation. He also reflected on the prior interactions between Prime Minister Modi and President Subianto.

PM Modi, Indonesian President hold meeting

Mazumdar said, "The President (of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto) is accompanied by a high-powered delegation of six cabinet ministers, senior officials, and a very large business delegation. This is the President's maiden state visit to India, although he had visited earlier as Defence Minister in 2020. He met our Prime Minister in Brazil on the margins of the G20 in November this year, and they have also spoken on the phone on a couple of occasions."

He added, "The President had congratulated Prime Minister Modi on his election victory. The President himself was elected in October and took office in the same month. We are very fortunate that very early on in his tenure, he is visiting India. The Prime Minister also remarked that it is a very good sign - at the start of the Prime Minister's third term and the beginning of the President's term, we are having this visit, which will give both leaders the chance to work on strengthening the relationship."

Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Modi met President Subianto at Hyderabad House in Delhi, ANI reported. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, focusing on defence, security, maritime domain, economic ties, and people-to-people connections.

In a post shared on X, Randhir Jaiswal stated, "India-Indonesia | Together for our vision of the Indo-Pacific. PM @narendramodi and President @prabowo of Indonesia held wide-ranging talks at Hyderabad House today. Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with a focus on defence and security, maritime domain, economic and people-to-people ties. They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest."

Following his meeting with PM Modi, President Subianto highlighted the historic ties and strategic partnership between Indonesia and India. He expressed his "great honour" at being invited as the chief guest for India's Republic Day 2025 parade.

In his statement alongside PM Modi, President Subianto remarked, "The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia is on land donated by the Indian government before we were recognised by many other countries in the world. We will prioritise this relationship in the interest of the long-term strategic partnership we have agreed upon. I feel very honoured to be the Chief Guest at tomorrow's Republic Day parade. The first Chief Guest at India's first Republic Day parade was President Sukarno, so this is a great honour for me."

President Subianto arrived in New Delhi on Friday night for his first state visit to India. He was welcomed by Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, at the airport.

(With ANI inputs)