Cultural heritage connect us, thank Indonesian people for preserving it: Modi at Prambanan Temple complex

Emphasising that cultural legacy connects people from different geographies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (July 8, 2026) thanked Indonesia and its people for preserving the “grand heritage” of the Prambanan Temple complex.

In his address later, while visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site along with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, he also said it was his honour to be part of the inauguration of a joint conservation project for the Prambanan Temple complex.

Also read: PM in Indonesia updates

Prime Minister Modi and President Subianto visited the heritage site and inaugurated the Prambanan Temple restoration project in Yogyakarta.

“On the way to the Prambanan Temple from Yogyakarta with President Prabowo Subianto,” PM Modi posted on X ahead of their visit and shared a photo of the two leaders holding their hands warmly in an aircraft.

“The majestic Prambanan Temple!” the post said.

“In conversations I hear, the winds here carry a scent of culture. That scent which we feel every moment on the soil of India. This scent, this cultural heritage, connects us,” PM Modi said.

“1200 years..I thank the people here (in Indonesia)..the way they have preserved this grand heritage, and maintained it, and done it with a devotional faith. So, I also wholeheartedly greet people of Indonesia and all the rulers (of Indonesia) who have been, so far,” he said.

The visit to the historic site by the two leaders came a day after India and Indonesia exchanged a Letter of Intent to start the project on conservation and restoration of the temple complex with assistance from India.

“I saw chants of ‘Mahamrityunjay’ and ‘Om Namah Shiva’ being offered in this temple; this indeed touched the heart.

“As we begin the conservation and restoration work at Prambanan Temple complex, which is a UNESCO World Heritage, I am very assured that Indian tourists will definitely visit this place,” he said.

The Prambanan Temple Compound is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Yogyakarta.

The centuries-old temple, located approximately 17 km northeast of Yogyakarta city, is considered Indonesia’s largest Hindu temple. Built in the 10th century, this is the largest temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia.

Rising above the centre of the last of these concentric squares are three temples decorated with reliefs illustrating the epic of the Ramayana, dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) and three temples dedicated to the animals who serve them, according to the UNESCO website.

Mr. Modi landed in Jakarta on Monday (July 8, 2026) to a red-carpet welcome in the first leg of his three-nation tour, which will also cover Australia and New Zealand, to shore up cooperation in sectors such as trade, security and rare-earth minerals under the framework of the India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of 2018.