On the occasion, top dignitaries from India -- P S Raghavan, Special Representative of the External Affairs Minister, Gurjit Singh Ambassador of India to Indonesia and ASEAN and Adi Godrej, President of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) -- were present.
The ASEAN national anthem was sung at the function, followed by cultural performances from India and Indonesia. A Manipuri dance troupe from Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) also performed.
The ASEAN-India Car Rally is jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and all ASEAN nations.
After starting at a city hotel, the rally proceeded to the iconic Borobudur temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the world, where the participants were welcomed warmly by representative of Governor of Central Java.
The participants planted saplings at the venue to mark the occasion and also witnessed the unveiling of bronze bust of Rabindranath Tagore at the Temple.
The rally thereafter proceeded to its final leg of journey to Surakarta (Solo) and arrived at the Municipal Building at Solo to cheering crowds.
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After a night halt at Surakarta, the participants will fly to Singapore for the second leg of the rally.
It will traverse a total of 8000 kms across nine countries over 22 days with 124 participants from 11 countries before culminating its journey in Guhawati.