Glad there's no copyright: PM Modi laughs at Subianto's copycat admission
Praising India's development model, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said several of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiatives had inspired policies in his own country. He said programmes that delivered results in India had also proved effective in addressing similar challenges in Indonesia.
Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday admitted to copying several of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's programmes while hosting a banquet lunch in his honour in Jakarta. With PM Modi seated beside him, Subianto joked that he was grateful there was no copyright attached to the Indian leader's initiatives, drawing laughter from those present.
"I also want to admit to Your Excellency (PM Modi), I follow your career and I copy many of your programmes," Subianto said.
He went on to say that he had no hesitation in acknowledging this publicly, explaining that Indonesia and India shared similar developmental challenges and that initiatives which had worked for hundreds of millions of Indians could also benefit Indonesians.
"I don't mind admitting it because if it succeeds for hundreds of millions of people with the same background as Indonesia, the same problems... India has achieved much progress. So I openly admit that I follow your career and I copy a lot of your programmes. And it's proving to be successful for us. So thank you very much," he added, as reported by news agency ANI.
Earlier in the day, India and Indonesia signed agreements in health, education and other sectors, including one on the establishment of an overseas campus of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore in the South-East Asian country, Modi announced.
The IIM Bangalore campus will be set up at the Singhasari Special Economic Zone in Indonesia's East Java province. IIM Ahmedabad was the first premier Indian business school to open a campus outside India, with its Dubai campus launched last year.
In the health sector, India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation and Indonesia's National Agency of Drug and Food Control signed a memorandum of understanding. The agreement is aimed at cooperation in medical products regulation, enabling knowledge exchange on global regulatory standards and enhancing market access for Indian medical products in Indonesia.
The agreements were part of nearly a dozen pacts signed during Modi's visit. These also covered defence, critical minerals and maritime security cooperation, as the two sides moved to deepen ties during the Indonesia leg of the Prime Minister's tour.
Modi's Jakarta visit, which began with his arrival on Monday, saw India and Indonesia sign a range of agreements across sectors, including education and health, with the proposed IIM Bangalore campus and cooperation on medical products regulation among the key announcements.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Jakarta on Monday to a red-carpet welcome as he began the first leg of his three-nation tour, which will also cover Australia and New Zealand, to strengthen trade and security cooperation.