VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology stated that Indonesia has extensive cultural cooperation with ASEAN countries, including in the exchange of data and artworks.

The ministry's Director General of Culture, Hilmar Farid, stated that data exchange with ASEAN countries would allow each member to identify and compare cultural heritages in the region.

"Within the ASEAN framework, there is data about heritage. The cultural heritage data from all ASEAN members are unified to allow us to see any similarities and differences," Farid stated here on Tuesday.

He noted that apart from data exchange, other forms of cultural cooperation among ASEAN countries include artwork exchange and capacity and technological development collaboration.

"So far, with Singapore, we are mostly (engaging) in bilateral cooperation, but we also conduct exchange when they borrow our National Gallery artwork. Meanwhile, we have also engaged in capacity development (cooperation) with the Philippines," he expounded.

Earlier, the director general received Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the National Museum here. The royal couple was keen to gain a broad understanding of Indonesian culture.

"The emperor's visit is a special occasion for us, and it shows that the visit is not merely about the economy or geopolitical cooperation in the region but is also about the culture," Farid stated.

He highlighted that Indonesia has engaged in cultural cooperation with Japan, including through the use of technology to compile cultural data.

"The project is, more or less, to gather all data about cultural heritages," the director general noted.

During the visit to the National Museum, the emperor expressed interest in the history of Indonesia's water irrigation system depicted in the Tugu, Harinjing, and Palepangan inscriptions, all being the museum's collections. (Antaranews)