'Every time I hear Indian music, I find my body moving': Indonesian President during PM Modi's visit

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto revealed that he has “Indian DNA” while addressing a gathering during Prime Minister Modi's state visit

Updated on: Jul 7, 2026, 22:44:17 IST

By Stuti Gupta

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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto revealed on Tuesday that he carried Indian DNA as per a genome sequencing test he took right before his state visit to the country in January 2025. He made the remarks during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ongoing visit to Indonesia.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto claims he has "Indian DNA" during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit (ANI)

The visit comes at a particularly critical point in India's foreign relations, as the country faces a thaw in relations with the US, prompting the need to look to the Indo-Pacific region for cooperation on critical issues such as defence, technology, and security.

President Subianto's comments

President Subianto's revelation of possessing Indian DNA was welcomed with applause and cheers from the Indian diaspora gathered in the hall. “That's why I think every time I hear some music, especially Indian music, I find my body moving," Subianto added, laughingly.

Also Read I India, Indonesia strike key defence deal on BrahMos missile system

“All my ministers and generals like to dance and sing at the state banquet in our palace. Maybe most of them have Indian DNA also. Most of my ministers sing Indian songs very well,” he added.

Prime Minister Modi followed up President Subianto's comments by recalling his state visit to India and thanked him for winning the “hearts of millions of Indians”.

Following this light-hearted moment, Subianto revealed that he had a “very good” meeting with Modi today. The pair stressed on enhancing cooperation between the two countries on critical issues like critical minerals, technology, food security, medicines and maritime security.

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Bilateral cooperation

The three-day visit marked a historic turning point between the two countries as they signed nearly a dozen agreements to enhance strategic cooperation. This includes a deal to strengthen collaboration in critical minerals and rare earths in order to build diversified and resilient supply chains aimed at reducing global vulnerabilities, as per news agency PTI.

As part of this agreement, an MoU was signed between Non-Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre (NFTDC), Midwest Ltd, and PT Perusahaan Mineral Nasional (PERMINAS).

Another notable pact allowed Jakarta to acquire New Delhi's BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, a joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Organization and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, This makes Indonesia the third buyer of the missiles after the Philippines and Vietnam, as per news agency AP.

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Following the conclusion of his visit to Indonesia on Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to travel to New Zealand and Australia.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stuti Gupta
Stuti Gupta is a Content Producer at Hindustan Times, based in New Delhi, where she is a part of the General News team, tasked with reporting on happenings across the country impacting domestic as well as international ecospheres. In her role at HT, she is responsible for keeping a track of incoming news updates, packaging stories and publishing them in a format best suited to their purpose. She holds a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Journalism from St Xavier’s, Mumbai and is partial towards working on international affairs. Apart from her interest in the geopolitical world, she is a keen reader, writer, orator, debater and learner who loves picking up new information. She has been recognized for her previous literary work at the international level with a Gold Finalist, Gold and Silver Award in various participating years at the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition along with winning the third prize and getting her story published in Children’s World in 2017. Barring academic and professional pursuits, she has a passion for travelling to new places, exploring new cultures and cuisines, documenting them through words and pictures and interacting with people from diverse backgrounds. She is also an avid enthusiast of studying art forms such as cinema, dance, theatre and music as a tool for cultural storytelling and actively participates in them.Read More

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