Jakarta (WNAM MONITORING): Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto invited India to send its professors and specialist doctors to give lectures at universities in Indonesia.
“We are hoping for enhanced cooperation with India, especially by welcoming Indian professors and specialist doctors to teach at our universities,” he told Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, as cited from his secretariat’s statement here on Tuesday.
During a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday (November 18) at local time, the two leaders touched upon the opportunities for their countries to establish strategic cooperation in health, education, and trade sectors.
Prabowo highlighted Indonesia’s pressing need for more medical workers, pointing to the country’s lack of 160 thousand doctors.
For that reason, the president sought India’s help, offering Prime Minister Modi potential health and education cooperation, which involves deploying Indian professionals to teach health subjects at Indonesian higher education institutions.
The Indonesian head of state also welcomed the keenness of corporations from India to contribute to Indonesia’s health sector by investing in the pharmaceutical industry and establishing hospitals.
Furthermore, Prabowo expressed his government’s interest in stepping up educational ties between Indonesia and India, emphasizing the need to increase the number of Indonesians studying in India.
Drawing attention to the trade sector, Prabowo alluded to Indonesia’s keenness to import rice from India.
“Hopefully, we will soon be able to reach an agreement on rice import from India,” he stated.
He also made the most of the meeting to extend his gratitude to the Indian government for delegating Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, to his presidential inauguration in Jakarta on October 20, 2024.
“Indonesia and India have been enjoying a long-lasting and harmonious relationship. We genuinely appreciate this bond and are committed to bolstering our ties in various fields,” he remarked.
