The Jakarta Globe/byJohannes Nugroho
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently in the United States for his first official state visit there. In welcoming him, the US Congress has also designated Sept. 30 as US-India Partnership Day.
While a state visit to Indonesia by Prime Minister Modi is not in the offing yet, it would be in Jakarta’s interest that one be arranged as soon as possible. It may even be wise for the country’s President-elect, Joko Widodo, to make India among the top five
countries to visit first after taking office.
The last Indonesian leader to visit New Delhi was President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2011. The visit was of particular importance as President Yudhoyono had been invited as the state guest of honor for India’s Republic Day celebrations. It was also hailed
as a watershed in trade relations between the two nations as trade and investment agreements worth over 15 billion dollars were duly signed..........[Read
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