Indonesia President may not club India-Pakistan trips together
What's the story
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations on January 26, is unlikely to club this visit with a proposed trip to Pakistan.
This comes after India diplomatically urged Indonesia not to club the visits as it could negatively impact Indo-Pak relations.
The Indian government has long advocated foreign leaders to separate their visits to India and Pakistan to dehyphenate ties.
Visit details
Subianto's potential visit to Pakistan
Reportedly, the idea of Subianto visiting Pakistan was proposed during his meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at a multilateral event in Egypt last month.
Pakistani ministers have called this potential visit a "landmark" opportunity to enhance economic ties between Indonesia and Pakistan.
However, official sources now say that Subianto is unlikely to travel directly from India to Pakistan, and may fly to Malaysia on January 26.
Bilateral ties
India-Indonesia relations and previous Republic Day visits
India and Indonesia enjoy robust bilateral ties, emphasizing political sovereignty, economic self-sufficiency, and independent foreign policy.
Indonesia is now India's largest trading partner in the ASEAN region.
The two countries set up a Security Dialogue during former Indonesian President Joko Widodo's state visit in 2016.
Incidentally, this is the third time an Indonesian president has been invited as chief guest for India's Republic Day parade; the first invite was sent in 1950.