PM Modi’s visit to Indonesia, many big agreements will be signed between the two countries, special focus will be on digital and defense sectors

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day visit to Indonesia is being considered very important for the relations between India and Indonesia. During this visit, cooperation between the two countries is expected to get new strength in many areas like digital technology, defence, trade, health and critical minerals. The special thing is that both the countries do not want to be limited to just traditional partnership, but are also moving towards working together in future technology and strategic areas.

The most important aspect of this visit is considered to be the payment connectivity agreement between India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Indonesia’s digital payment system QRIS. After the implementation of this system, Indian tourists visiting Indonesia, especially at popular tourist destinations like Bali, will be able to easily make digital payments. This will make transactions faster, simpler and less costly than before. Besides, businessmen doing business between the two countries will also be able to directly benefit from it.

Indonesia is learning from India’s digital model

According to sources associated with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indonesia is moving towards adopting many successful digital schemes of India. It is being told that Indonesia’s Open Network (ION) is inspired by India’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) model. Now the talks between the two countries are not limited to just sharing experiences, but cooperation is also being strengthened at the institutional level. The Government of India is ready to provide technical and policy support to Indonesia in this direction.

The first live digital transaction will take place on July 7.

The first live transaction of Indonesia Open Network (ION) is planned to be conducted during the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. The initiative aims to provide a lower-cost and more convenient digital marketplace to millions of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This will help small businessmen to deliver their products and services to customers on a large scale.

Taking inspiration from India’s digital systems like Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker and e-KYC, Indonesia has started ‘Digital Nusantara’ initiative. Indian companies are also providing technical support in this project and playing a role in developing the next generation digital infrastructure. Cooperation between the two countries is also increasing in the field of health and nutrition. Inspired by India’s PM Poshan (Mid-Day Meal) scheme, Indonesia has started ‘Free Nutritious Meals’ programme. Apart from this, the model of India’s Jan Aushadhi Yojana is also being discussed to provide medicines at low prices in rural areas.

Partnership will be strengthened in defense sector also

India and Indonesia are also preparing to take defense cooperation to a new level. Both countries are working to increase cooperation in areas like defense production, exchange of technology, military training and maritime security. Indonesia has also shown interest in the defense technologies developed under the Self-reliant India campaign and the experiences of indigenous defense production. Discussions are also going on between the two countries on many defense projects including advanced missile systems like BrahMos. Special attention is also being given to joint military exercises and strengthening maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.

Critical minerals will open new opportunities

The possibilities of cooperation between the two countries regarding critical minerals are also increasing rapidly. Indonesia has large reserves of many rare minerals including nickel, which are used in electric vehicles, batteries and modern industries. At present, a large part of these minerals are exported in raw form, but Indonesia is now working towards increasing their value addition within the country. This partnership is considered strategically important for India, which wants to ensure stable supply of such minerals for its future industrial needs.