Modi meets Prabowo for BrahMos, food security talks
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- Modi is scheduled to meet Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on Tuesday, his first visit to Indonesia since 2023, before continuing to Yogyakarta and then Australia and New Zealand.
- India and Indonesia plan to finalize memorandums of understanding covering health, space, pharmaceuticals, and food security, according to Indian ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty, who warned some deals may slip but said there will still be outcomes.
- BrahMos, the India-Russia joint venture missile manufacturer, is expected to conclude certain agreements with Indonesia, building on 2023 advanced discussions for a deal worth between $200 million and $350 million and existing contracts with Vietnam and the Philippines.
- Defence talks will also cover maritime awareness and piracy, while the two leaders will jointly announce the start of restoration work at Prambanan, Indonesia's largest Hindu temple complex and a UNESCO World Heritage site that Modi plans to visit in Yogyakarta.
- India is a major buyer of Indonesian palm oil and coal, and Chakravorty said New Delhi has no big concerns about Indonesia's May move to centralize strategic commodity exports under government control, adding: "We understand the reasons and we believe that we are part of the solution."
Why it matters: A BrahMos deal would deepen India's military footprint in Southeast Asia alongside existing contracts with Vietnam and the Philippines, and the leaders' comfort with Indonesia's export centralization move matters for the palm oil and coal flows India depends on as a top buyer.
