Ambassador: RI-India cooperation intensifies after PM Modi's visit
India’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Sandeep Chakravorty, assessed that Indonesia-India relations have become increasingly intensive following the meeting between President Prabowo Subianto and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2026.
In a discussion on the prospects for bilateral cooperation after PM Modi’s visit to Indonesia, Chakravorty said President Prabowo’s visit to India in January 2025 had brought new dynamics and energy to the relationship between the two countries.
“Meanwhile, PM Modi’s visit to Indonesia last month brought new dynamics and impetus to the bilateral partnership,” he said at the Indian Embassy in Jakarta on Wednesday.
According to Chakravorty, the intensification of relations is evident from the growing number of Indonesian ministers visiting India to meet their counterparts and discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation.
The ministers who have held such meetings include the Minister of Trade, the Minister of Industry, and the Minister of Education, he added.
“Important ministers from Indonesia visited India this August, and they met with their counterparts there,” said the Indian Ambassador.
One outcome of the series of meetings, he continued, is a commitment to strengthen economic cooperation, including through the integration of QR-code-based payment systems and the implementation of local currency settlement between Indonesia and India.
The two countries also agreed on the importance of having a bilateral trade agreement that can expand market access for Indonesian and Indian products in each other’s countries, Chakravorty said.
According to him, such an agreement could be an important step to strengthen economic relations while opening broader trade opportunities for businesses in both countries.
On the same occasion, Chakravorty revealed plans for President Prabowo’s attendance at the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, in mid-September.
He assessed that Prabowo’s presence at the event would once again place Indonesia-India relations in the spotlight, especially as President Prabowo is scheduled to meet again with PM Narendra Modi to discuss the progress of bilateral cooperation.
“On that occasion, they will certainly discuss the follow-up to what was agreed since Modi’s visit to Indonesia in July,” he said.
Economic cooperation between the two countries is also supported by trade performance that has recorded a surplus for Indonesia. In January-June 2026, total Indonesia-India trade reached 11.89 billion US dollars, consisting of Indonesian exports of 9.28 billion US dollars and imports of 2.60 billion US dollars.
During that period, Indonesia recorded a trade balance surplus of 6.68 billion US dollars with India.
The main commodities exported by Indonesia to India include coal, palm oil, stainless steel, industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids, and artificial corundum.
Meanwhile, the main commodities imported by Indonesia from India include buffalo meat, groundnuts, goods transport vehicles, tractor parts and accessories, and raw tobacco.