Minister values strong civilisational ties between Indonesia and India

Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana believes that Indonesia and India share a strong civilisational closeness. “We want to make Prambanan an important bridge in strengthening cultural and spiritual tourism relations between Indonesia and India. Along with Bali, Prambanan has a strong emotional and spiritual closeness with Indian tourists,” Widiyanti said in an official statement confirmed in Jakarta on Thursday. During a working visit accompanying President Prabowo Subianto to Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta on Wednesday, Widiyanti stated that the traces of relations between the two nations are reflected in art, language, literature, architecture, spiritual traditions, and great epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Prambanan Temple is also a symbol of the closeness between Indonesian and Indian civilisations. Widiyanti also assessed that the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Indonesia, particularly the agenda to visit Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta, is an important momentum to strengthen Indonesia-India relations through culture, spirituality, and tourism. “We see Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Prambanan as a very important momentum to strengthen people-to-people contact between Indonesia and India. The relationship between the two countries is not only diplomatic, but also a cultural and civilisational relationship that has been built for a long time,” she said. The number of foreign tourist visits from India from January to May 2026 was 298,490 visits, an increase of 0.40 percent from the same period the previous year. Indian tourist visits also showed a positive trend during the 2023 to 2025 period, growing from 606,439 in 2023 to 734,490 in 2025. Tourism relations between the two countries are expected to grow not only in terms of the number of visits, but also through improving the quality of the tourism experience, strengthening cultural closeness, and closer people-to-people interaction. Widiyanti hopes that Prime Minister Modi’s visit can further increase the exposure of Indonesian tourism, especially Prambanan Temple as a world-class cultural tourism destination.