Speaking at a banquet lunch hosted in honour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his three-day state visit to Jakarta, Subianto praised India's development journey and said Indonesia was learning valuable lessons from its experience.
"I follow your career and copy many of the programmes," Subianto said, prompting laughter from dignitaries attending the event.
The Indonesian President said India and Indonesia share several common characteristics, including large populations, agriculture-based economies, and frequent natural disasters. He said these similarities made India's achievements particularly relevant for Indonesia.
"I don't mind admitting because if it succeeds for hundreds of millions of people with the same background as Indonesia, we are making a mistake to say that we have the problems of a big population. We're agricultural in our backgrounds and face many natural disasters, and yet, India has achieved success in many programmes," he said.
#WATCH | A light-hearted moment with a deeper message. 🇮🇳🤝🇮🇩
— DD News (@DDNewslive) July 7, 2026
Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto drew smiles as he said during the banquet lunch “I copy your career and many of your progress…”
“I’m happy there is no copyright in following this progress”, he said amidst the… pic.twitter.com/EVPSlt2Pib
Subianto said several Indian government initiatives had produced impressive results and had become a model for Indonesia. He openly acknowledged that his administration had adopted many of those programmes because they had proven successful.
"So, I openly admit that I follow your career and copy a lot of the programme. Hence, it's proving to be successful for us. Thank you very much. I'm really happy there is no copyright to all your programmes," he said, drawing another round of laughter.
The Indonesian President also revealed that a team from his country had recently spent two to three weeks in India studying successful development projects to understand how similar initiatives could be implemented in Indonesia.
Highlighting India's achievements in agriculture, Subianto said Indian groups had successfully transformed dry and barren land into fertile farmland using permaculture techniques. He said Indonesia was keen to learn from those efforts and was actively studying the approach.
"Many Indian groups have achieved in making arid land arable again with what is called permaculture. So we are studying this crossing, and we have a lot to learn, and we're not afraid of learning," Subianto said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a three-day visit to Jakarta at the invitation of President Prabowo Subianto. The visit marks the Indian Prime Minister's fourth trip to Indonesia and his first bilateral visit since India and Indonesia upgraded their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2018.
During the visit, Prime Minister Modi and President Subianto held bilateral talks to review the progress achieved over the past few years. The two leaders are also discussing ways to strengthen cooperation in defence, trade, investment, maritime security, and technology.
Subianto's remarks underscored India's growing influence as a development partner and reflected Indonesia's willingness to adopt successful governance models as both countries seek to deepen their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership through closer collaboration across multiple strategic sectors.
About The Author
Comment List