EMBASSY OF INDIA, JAKARTA PRESS RELEASE INDIA - INDONESIA TO ENHANCE DEFENCE COOPERATION VISIT BY THE CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF INDIAN AIR FORCE TO INDONESIA Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of Air Staff Indian Air Force visited Indonesia from 23-26 November on an invitation from Air Chief Marshal Ida Bagus Putu Dunia, Chief of Staff Indonesian Air Force. This was the first visit by an Indian Air Chief to Indonesia in over a decade and happened against the backdrop of the summit meeting between President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the time of the East Asia Summit in Nay Pyi Taw Myanmar, during which enhancement of defence cooperation was one of the key points of discussion. During this visit, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha had a meeting with his counterpart Air Chief Marshal Putu Dunia and interacted with the Senior Staff of the Indonesian Air Force. The Indian Ambassador HE Mr Gurjit Singh accompanied the Indian Air Chief for his meeting with General (Retired) Ryamizard Ryacudu, the Minister of Defence, RI. The Indonesian Minister of Defence was appreciative of the ongoing initiatives in the field of Defence Cooperation and underlined the immense scope and potential to further the engagement between the two Armed Forces in the future. They discussed the Maritime Axis Doctrine of Indonesia and recalled the close cooperation between the two countries in the Indian Ocean. The Defence Minister also recollected that nine Indian companies had participated in the recently concluded Indo Defence Expo 2014 at Jakarta and that they had productive discussions with Indonesian companies on the future prospects of joint production and transfer of technology. Air Chief Marshal Raha also visited PT Dirgantara at Bandung and saw the production and maintenance facilities. He complimented PTDI for their efforts at indigenisation and expressed India’s commitment to support the Indonesian Defence Industry. During his visit to training facilities at Yogyakarta, Indian Chief of Air Staff addressed the cadets at the Indonesian Air Force Academy and interacted with the Jupiter Aerobatics Team at the Flying School. The visit of Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chairman Chiefs Of Staff Committee and Chief of Air Staff Indian Air Force to Indonesia helped to reiterate the historic connect between the two Armed Forces since the early days on independence while reemphasising the congruence of strategic interests of the two countries in ensuring peace and stability in this region of common interest. ********* 28th November 2014 .