India to assist Indonesia in conservation of Prambanan Temple complex, Modi to visit site on July 8

Jakarta, Jul 7 (PTI) India will assist Indonesia in the conservation and restoration of Prambanan Temple complex -- a UNESCO World Heritage Site -- in Yogyakarta, as the two countries on Tuesday exchanged a Letter of Intent to mark the beginning of the project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in Indonesia at the invitation of President Prabowo Subianto, is scheduled to visit the Prambanan Temple Compounds on July 8. Modi landed in Jakarta on Monday to a red-carpet welcome in the first leg of his three-nation tour -- that will also cover Australia and New Zealand -- to shore up cooperation in sectors such as trade, security and rare-earth minerals under the framework of the India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of 2018. PM Modi and President Prabowo on Tuesday held talks to ramp up bilateral relations and ways to ensure a peaceful Indo-Pacific. Following the talks, the leaders witnessed the exchange of MoUs or agreements in the fields of defence, critical minerals and rare earths, science and technology, education, electoral practices, telecommunications, agriculture, maritime security, space, steel supply chain, disaster management, medical products regulation, health workforce collaboration, among others, the Ministry of External Affairs said. "A Letter of Intent on India's support for the conservation and restoration of UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Prambanan Temple Complex, Yogyakarta was also exchanged," it said. Modi, in his remarks delivered at the joint press meet here, said, "Tomorrow, I will have the privilege of joining President Prabowo in Yogyakarta to launch the conservation project for the Prambanan Temple. More than a thousand years old, the Prambanan Temple stands as a timeless symbol of the shared cultural heritage of India and Indonesia." Built in the 10th century, this is the largest temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia. Rising above the centre of the last of these concentric squares are three temples decorated with reliefs illustrating the epic of the Ramayana, dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) and three temples dedicated to the animals who serve them, according to the UNESCO website. A joint statement later issued by India and Indonesia said, "Both leaders welcomed the inauguration of the India-supported project towards restoration and conservation of the UNESCO World Heritage Prambanan Temple Compounds in Yogyakarta by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)." Ahead of Modi's visit, Rudrendra Tandon, Secretary (East), MEA had told reporters on July 3 that "India and Indonesia will be collaborating on the conservation work there". Indonesia also appreciated the "gifting of a replica of the original Nalanda Copper Plate, dating to approximately 860 CE engraved in Devanagari script and in Sanskrit language", by the National Museum of India, now exhibited, in the new museum at Muara Jambi, according to the joint statement. The two leaders recalled the principles contained in the "Kashi Cultural Pathway" as adopted at the G20 Culture Ministers' Meeting in Varanasi in August 2023, and noted the importance of continued consultations between the two governments on cultural heritage matters, "in accordance with their respective laws and procedures, and in the spirit of friendship and mutual respect". They also recognised the "enduring intellectual legacy and shared educational vision of Rabindranath Tagore and Ki Hajar Dewantara, whose exchanges helped lay an important foundation for the shared cultural and educational vision ties between India and Indonesia, and agreed to commemorate 2026–2027 as the 'Tagore–Dewantara Year of India–Indonesia Cultural and Educational Diplomacy'. The commemoration will mark the centenary of Tagore's visit to Indonesia in 1927 through a year-long programme of joint cultural, educational, academic, and people-to-people initiatives in both countries, the statement said. Modi is visiting Indonesia from July 6-8. Building on the State Visit of President Prabowo to India in 2025, during which he was also the Chief Guest at India's 76th Republic Day celebrations, the visit of Prime Minister Modi marks an "important milestone reflecting the shared commitment of the two leaders to achieve a substantial upwards trajectory in the India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," the joint statement said. Underscoring the potential of tourism as driver of people-to-people ties, both leaders expressed their shared commitment to further deepening tourism cooperation and enhancing two-way visitor flows between the two countries. They agreed to further discuss ways to "streamline ease of travel and visa facilitation" on each side, it said. Both leaders emphasised the importance of enhanced maritime and air connectivity between the countries and encouraged greater air connectivity and port-to-port connections. They also look forward to the "3rd Joint Task Force Meeting on Andaman-Aceh Connectivity to be convened in the second half of 2026 and for a plan of action to be implemented expeditiously". "President Prabowo welcomed India's interest in partnering on the integrated development of the Sabang Port. Both leaders recognised that such a partnership —spanning cruise and marine-tourism facilities, maritime industries (ship-repair and shipbuilding), and shore-based services supporting offshore energy activities in the Andaman Sea — would foster institutional, physical, digital and flow of people and commodities between Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India and the provinces in Sumatra Island, that contribute to generating investment, employment, transfer of technology and shared regional prosperity," it said. Both leaders encouraged their concerned authorities to work out the scope, modalities and financing of the project, consistent with Indonesia's development plans and applicable regulations, in a time-bound and mutually beneficial manner. PTI KND GSP GSP