VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has called on Japan to aid in bringing about improvements in the quality of the Indonesian workforce to realize its investment in Indonesia.

Pandjaitan made the request at the third dialog forum of Indonesia-Japanese governments and private sectors in Jakarta on Wednesday. Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Hiroshige Seko led the Japanese delegation to the forum.

"Presently, the government's top priority is to improve human resources. Hence, we appeal to (Japan) to help in the development of our human resources, specifically those residing outside Java Island," he noted in a written statement released on Wednesday.

"I laud Japan for its steps to offer training to our human resources, especially to improve their capacity. The steps have been on the right track, but in future, I am looking for an intensification in the efforts," he noted.

In response, Minister Seko voiced his government's keenness to aid in improving the quality of Indonesian manpower in line with the Indonesian government's request.

"The Japanese government and firms realize that Indonesia is our important partner, so we highly support the Indonesian government's request to provide training to the Indonesian workforce in order to offer the country a more competitive edge," he stated.

Chief of the Jakarta Japan Club (JCC) Kanji Tojo remarked that as a follow-up to the second dialog forum between the Indonesian-Japanese governments and private sectors, Japan has offered training for 107 vocational school teachers in Medan, Lampung, and Makassar. (ant)