BSAA: Indonesian focus on cooperation

On November 5, the diplomatic delegation of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Moscow visited the oldest higher agrarian educational establishment of the Union State of Belarus and Russia - BSAA. The delegation included: Azis NURWAHYUDI - Deputy Ambassador, Adi NURYANTO - Attaché for Education, Adi PRIYANTO - Embassy Adviser, Hosea Richardo Bokkak MANURUNG - First Secretary, Rendi CASMONO - Embassy employee.

REFERENCE.

Indonesia is a state in Southeast Asia with a population of over 275 million people. It is located on the islands of the Malay Archipelago. The capital is the city of Jakarta.

On September 30, 2021, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to Russia and Belarus (concurrently) Jose Antonio Morato Tavares presented his credentials to President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. During the ceremony which was held in Minsk at the Palace of Independence, the Belarusian leader called this state a key partner in ASEAN and emphasized: "Our citizens, business representatives and academia know Indonesia not only as a tourist pearl, but also as a country with a dynamically developing economy, high human and scientific potential."

Diplomatic relations between our countries began on June 18, 1993, in Moscow, during the signing of a joint communiqué.

On August 22, 2011, the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in Indonesia began operating in Jakarta. On 18-20 March 2013, Belarus state delegation headed by President Alexander Lukashenko visited the country for the first time in the history of bilateral relations.

Since September 2015, Belarus has been included in the list of countries whose citizens in Indonesia have a visa-free regime for up to 30 days. A similar "bonus" since 2017 has been provided to Indonesian citizens when visiting our republic.

Recently, cooperation between Belarus and Indonesia has been constructive, dynamically developing, and trade turnover is growing.

Indonesia is one of the TOP-20 largest economies in the world. ASEAN is headquartered in this state, and unites 10 countries in Southeast Asia.

In February 2021, during the Belarusian-Indonesian video conference, a Memorandum on cooperation and mutual support in the development of trade and economic relations was signed. The document opens up great opportunities on a legal basis to intensify contacts, exchange information, and deepen bilateral cooperation.

On October 21 of this year, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus V.P.Andreichenko met with Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia on Industry and Development Rahmat Gobel. An interested dialogue with Indonesian partners took place at the Ministry of Education.

New "points" of cooperation were outlined during the stay of the Indonesian diplomatic delegation in the Belarusian State the Orders of the October Revolution and the Labor Red Banner Agricultural Academy. A delegation from Indonesia was met at the Academy's main square. High guests were warmly welcomed by the BSAA rector Vitaly VELIKANOV, vice-rector for academic work Mikhail VOLKOV, vice-rector for scientific work Yuri TIBETS, dean of the faculty of international relations and pre-university education Alexander PASHKEVICH. The role of interpreter was taken by PhD in philology, associate professor Tatyana LYAKHNOVICH.

In educational building No.10, the university management and diplomats lingered at the Symbolic Book with the words of the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. Having heard the name of the leader of the Belarusian people and the fact that he received a second higher economic education at the BSAA, the guests were pleasantly surprised. Such a reaction, most likely, could be regarded as confirmation of their correct choice of a leading agricultural university for establishing contacts and cooperation in the field of education. In the "Indonesian dossier" of this "diplomatic mission" there was another Belarusian university - BSU.

The conversation continued in the conference room. The parties exchanged views on the main topics of the upcoming dialogue. Its main goal is not only to get to know more about one of the oldest agrarian universities in Europe and the CIS, but also to discuss with its management the directions of development of potential cooperation in the field of higher education and scientific research between BSAA and partners in Indonesia.

Rector V.Velikanov briefly told the guests about the academy. The film- presentation about the BSAA helped to get necessary information about the capabilities of the leading agrarian university, which, despite its venerable age, still remains a "trendsetter" in agrarian education and scientific activity. The Academy boldly uses modern innovative technologies, including artificial intelligence, in the process of training specialists. Indonesian diplomats were able to see this during their acquaintance with the material and technical base of the Academy.

At the very beginning of the exchange of views, the head of the delegation, Azis Nurwahyudi, proposed a number of specific areas of cooperation with universities in Indonesia. He named the university TIDAR as one of them. This state university was named after the sacred Mount Tidar and is located in Northern Magelang. Its administration is ready to cooperate with the Belarusian university and is waiting for the signing of the roadmap or memorandum. Vitaly Velikanov expressed high readiness for such mutually beneficial cooperation. As the guests got acquainted with the leading Belarusian agricultural university, their interest in cooperation only increased. Diplomats visited the Center for Precision Agriculture and the Educational and Exhibition Center of Modern Technology, where they were convinced of the possibilities of training world-class specialists on the basis of the BSAA.

The delegation was also interested in visiting the industrial fish breeding complex, on the basis of which experimental studies are being conducted. In addition to scientists and students of BSAA, specialists from St. Petersburg State University, the Department of Pharmacology of Southwestern University of China, Brown University (USA), which is part of the elite Ivy League, take part in these researches. And one of the generators of new ideas and the "locomotive" of their implementation is a young Belarusian scientist, head of the department of ichthyology and fish farming Nikolai BARULIN. This is an undisputed fact that the Republic of Belarus not only successfully develops its own fisheries industry, but also shares its scientific developments with foreign colleagues and partners.

The dialogue which took place during the visit and exchange of views between the parties allows drawing a conclusion that in the existing format of bilateral international cooperation of BSAA in which there are already over 130 signed agreements and contracts, an Indonesian "accent" will appear in the nearest future.

Lyudmila GONCHAROVA, Elena TUZHIKOVA

Photo: Aleksander GURIKOV