VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - The Indonesian government has renewed its research cooperation forged with Japan, with special focus on the sectors of mobility, biodiversity, and manufacturing.

The cooperation was renewed with the objective of building the capacity of both countries' researchers in understanding an array of current issues and problems.

Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency's (BRIN's) Social and Humanity Sciences Organization stated in Jakarta on Tuesday that cooperation on mobility means that Indonesia will send students or researchers to Japan.

Furthermore, Indonesia can invite Japanese professors and researchers to come to Indonesia to strengthen the ecosystem, he affirmed.

On July 25-26, 2023, BRIN and the Japan Foundation are holding an international symposium that discusses five decades of friendship and cooperation between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is currently being chaired by Indonesia.

Indonesia has been conducting several studies on ASEAN since the establishment of the bloc in 1967. Meanwhile, the country started conducting studies on Japan in 2001.

According to Burhani, studies conducted in Indonesia have not yet been put in a broader scope, as most of them are focused on a specific issue.

Meanwhile, Head of BRIN Laksana Tri Handoko expressed optimism that the research collaboration fostered between Indonesia and Japan would further encourage and facilitate Indonesian researchers to study in Japan.

He then noted that in the past, most Indonesian students studying in Japan were those, who were financially covered by the government.

However, today, several students, be it self-financed or grantees of the government-funded Education Fund Management Institution (LPDP) scholarship, tend to choose to study in English-speaking countries, he pointed out.

"We want to reinforce it (the cooperation), considering Japan is one of the most crucial partners of Indonesia. We should maintain and even boost our relations with Japan through exchanges of not only students but also researchers, academics, and so on," he remarked. (Antaranews)