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View all search resultsGetting the ‘masala-bumbu’ mix
The relationship between India and Indonesia has suffered from strategic caution, a tendency to drift into parallel diplomatic orbits rather than actively combining forces to shape global policy.
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President Prabowo Subianto (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chat during a joint press briefing at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Jan. 25, 2025. (AFP/Money Sharma)
T
he state visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Jakarta this week marks a significant juncture for Asian diplomacy. For two maritime neighbors sharing an expansive ocean boundary and deep civilizational roots, the relationship between India and Indonesia has long felt like a reservoir of unfulfilled potential.
Despite decades of warm rhetoric, the strategic synergy between New Delhi and Jakarta has rarely matched its geographic and demographic weight. It is time for both nations to move past diplomatic pleasantries and forge a partnership capable of delivering a lasting impact for the Global South.
The two countries have been powerfully aligned before. The mid-20th century offers a blueprint for what a synchronized India and Indonesia can achieve on the world stage. The 1955 Bandung Conference and the subsequent founding of the Non-Aligned Movement stand as landmark achievements in modern diplomacy.
The pairing of then-Indonesian president Sukarno and Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru proved to be a geopolitical force multiplier for the developing world. Together, they gave voice to newly independent nations, resisted the polarizing gravity of Cold War superpowers and mapped a visionary framework for South-South cooperation.
Today, as the Global South faces fragmented geopolitics, economic protectionism and climate disruption, the world could use that brand of joint leadership again. Fortunately, the current leadership is not starting from scratch.
President Prabowo Subianto and Prime Minister Modi have shown a clear mutual desire to revitalize this historic bond.
A pivotal moment came when Prabowo visited India as chief guest for the country's Republic Day celebrations in January 2025. The symbolism was profound, echoing 1950, when Sukarno was the very first chief guest at India's inaugural Republic Day.
