Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Indonesia from October 10-12, following an official invitation from the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
This will be the Indian Prime Minister’s first visit to the country in the bilateral context.
During this visit he will travel to Jakarta, and hold official talks with President Yudhoyono on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest. Both sides are also expected to announce initiatives to promote bilateral relations. Following that, he will also meet other political leaders of the country.
India and Indonesia share warm relations, and the bilateral political-security, economic, cultural and people-to-people contacts are robust and expanding. In the past ten years there have been eight visits – four from India to Indonesia and four from Indonesia to India. Delhi and Jakarta have been in a strategic partnership since 2005; bilateral trade has increased five times since then and stands at $20 billion in 2012-13. The two nations are now targeting a $25 billion mark by 2015. Indian companies view Indonesia as an attractive investment destination and have a significant presence in infrastructure, power, textiles, steel, automotive, mining of resources, banking, FMCG manufacturing and other sectors.