India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto who is poised to secure an outright win in the election according to quick counts by all major pollsters and ongoing tally by the General Election Commission.

Modi, who is seeking a third term in the upcoming general elections, expressed his hope that the bilateral strategic partnership will get stronger with Prabowo’s presidency.

“Congratulations to the people of Indonesia on the successful Presidential elections and Prabowo Subianto on the lead. Look forward to working with the new Presidency to further strengthen Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Indonesia,” Modi posted on his official X account.

India is currently Indonesia’s 14th largest source of foreign investments -- valued at $275.4 million in 2023 last year -- according to the Indonesian government data.

The two-way trade between Indonesia and India stood at $28.2 billion in 2023, against $32.7 billion in the previous year. Nonetheless, the 2023 figures mark an almost two-fold increase compared to the pre-pandemic levels of $16.1 billion in 2019. 

Last year, Indonesia’s exports to India totaled $21.5 billion, thus giving Jakarta a $14.8 billion surplus.

India is one of 20 countries Indonesia is offering visa-free entry privileges to boost tourist arrivals. 

Both countries are also in talks on using local currencies in bilateral trade, bypassing the American dollar to reduce costs.

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