New Delhi

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and commitment towards alleviating poverty and helping the marginalised while affirming that he himself learnt a lot from him in the few days.

The Indonesian President, who is on his first state visit to India, said he is proud to be in India and further wished "prosperity, peace, and greatness" for the people of India in the coming years.

Speaking at the special banquet, Subianto said, "I am very proud to be here (in India)...I am not a professional politician, I am not a good diplomat, I say what is in my heart. I came here for a few days but learned a lot from Prime Minister Modi's leadership and commitments...His commitment to alleviating poverty, helping the marginalized, and helping the weakest part of your society, is an inspiration for us."

"I would like to wish the people of India prosperity, peace, and greatness in the coming years. I would like to see Indonesia and India continuing to be close partners and friends," he added.

Subianto will grace the 76th Republic Day celebrations at Kartvya Path in the national capital on Sunday.

The Rashtrapati Bhavan in a statement said that Murmu recalled that 75 years ago, then Indonesian President Sukarno attended India's Republic Day as the Chief Guest.

President Prabowo was received by President Droupadi Murmu at the special banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday.

President Murmu thanked President Subianto for accepting the invitation to grace India's Republic Day celebration as Chief Guest. She recalled that 75 years ago, President Sukarno of Indonesia was Chief Guest on our very first Republic Day in 1950. This is a reflection of the long-standing ties and strong democratic traditions between India and Indonesia.