Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday, 7 July 2026 highlighted remarks by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto expressing admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governance model, calling them a reflection of global recognition of India's transformation.

Context

Rijiju shared that President Prabowo had made 'heartfelt remarks about drawing inspiration from PM Modi's governance model,' framing the statement as evidence of India's growing international stature. The post comes as India actively promotes its development experience — spanning digital public infrastructure, large-scale welfare delivery, and infrastructure execution — as a replicable model for the Global South.

Prabowo Subianto assumed the Indonesian presidency in October 2024, succeeding Joko Widodo. A former general and defence minister, Prabowo has signalled continuity in Indonesia's foreign policy, including its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with India established in 2018.

Policy Backdrop

India and Indonesia elevated their bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during PM Modi's visit to Jakarta in May 2018 for the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit. The two countries subsequently coordinated on Global South priorities at the 2022 G20 Summit hosted by Indonesia.

India's governance exports have centred on Aadhaar-linked welfare delivery, UPI digital payments, and large-scale infrastructure execution. The Ministry of External Affairs has run capacity-building programmes for ASEAN officials on e-governance and digital public infrastructure since 2015, positioning New Delhi as a knowledge partner rather than merely a trading partner.

Several heads of state have publicly referenced India's governance experience in recent years, a pattern New Delhi has leveraged through bilateral visits and multilateral platforms to project soft power and deepen development cooperation.

Stakeholders and Impact

The exchange carries weight for India's foreign policy establishment, which has increasingly sought to frame the country's domestic reforms as globally relevant. Endorsements from leaders of ASEAN's largest economy — Indonesia is also a fellow G20 member — lend credibility to that narrative.

For Indonesian policymakers, alignment with India's governance model could translate into concrete cooperation on digital infrastructure, parliamentary exchanges, and administrative capacity-building. Rijiju's Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is positioned to coordinate any such legislative or institutional exchange programmes.

What's Next

Observers will watch for follow-up joint statements or memoranda at the next India-Indonesia bilateral summit or at forthcoming ASEAN-India ministerial meetings. Any formal parliamentary or administrative exchange programme announced through Rijiju's ministry would signal that Prabowo's admiration has translated into structured cooperation. India's broader push to institutionalise its governance model as a Global South template is likely to gain further momentum if such endorsements are formalised at the diplomatic level.